


Rise of the Scorpion King

by Beware_of_Starlight



Series: The Mummy AU [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Mummy Fusion, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Hirutani as his own warning, M/M, Minor Character Death, Temporary Character Death, a few gruesome descriptions, resurrected mummies, short appearance of flesh eating scarabs, undead murder monkeys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-09-02 06:01:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 103,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20271130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beware_of_Starlight/pseuds/Beware_of_Starlight
Summary: The mummy returns AU. Egypt, 1929. Two years ago, Yugi and his friends fought chaos incarnated (after accidentally releasing it themselves), and lived to tell the tale. They thought that it was over, that they got away with only memories still haunting them. They were wrong.Someone is disturbing Hamunaptra again, Yugi’s dreams turn to visions and when one of them leads him and his friends to a treasure bettter off buried, the battle for the fate of the world is on again. The year of the scorpion has begun.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

_ Egypt, 1929 _

It had started like any other dig before. A rich man, accompanied by two others, walking the streets of Cairo, looking for people willing and able to do his work. He only seemed strange for one moment, when the light of the sun had been right behind him, cloaking his face into the shadows. For that short moment, barely longer than a breath, he hadn’t looked like a foreigner. He had looked like he had been born here, on the shores of the nile, belonging to this country like very few if any of the foreigners ever did, no matter how hard some of them tried. They only succeeded in making themselves look ridiculous for the most part. But then he had moved, the shadows had shifted, and the fleeting impression had disappeared to show that he was just the same as all the others who came to hire others to work for their dreams of gold and glory.

The cursed English, French, and Italian, and the others who had descended over the country like a swarm of locusts for the last few decades, eyes shining with greed for a treasure which didn't belong to them. They were all the same. In this case he was a middle aged man, relatively fit for his age, his short dark hair already streaked with silver, and a hard, cold look in his eyes, as if he was judging everything he set his eyes on and found it wanting. The only thing that made him truly different from his colleagues was that he was paying well, far over the average rate for workers. And so he found himself almost besieged by workers, people eager to do their usual work for wages that were enough to keep their families alive and well fed for months. Maybe they should have stopped to think about the reasons anyone might be willing to pay such an extraordinary sum for something that was so common in this land, but none of them did. Hunger and greed and the thought of a better future, of fortune dropping by them just this once, had blinded everyone.

And so the workers laughed when they left Cairo, not wondering about the secrecy in which everything was conducted, about the work that went into making sure nobody knew where they were headed, or just how many were part of this particular expedition. They had been hired with talk about different digging grounds and expeditions, never more than the usual number of workers for a small expedition. But outside of Cairo, where nothing but the sun and the sand could watch them, their groups met, forming one long caravan. That was also when the soldiers joined them.

The workers were still laughing when they saw them, but their smiles became polite, more frozen. Egypt had been occupied by the British for decades; everybody had learned to be wary of any man wearing a uniform, even if the attire they saw wasn’t that of the British, or even the French foreign legion of Libya. Even if it was a uniform none of the workers had ever seen before. Black, with slashes of red here and there, new and well kept, with shining weapons in their hands, the newest of the new. And they knew how to handle them, acting with a quiet, unsettling discipline.

But travelling through the desert was dangerous, and the soldiers didn't seem to pay the workers much mind, and so, while they always remained wary, their suspicion and fears started to ease after a while of travelling. They were replaced with open curiosity and even the most cautious of them started to question the sanity of the one who had hired them for this expedition. When the trek stopped, they set up the camp right in the middle of nowhere, on what looked like the most deserted patch of land in the whole desert. 

There was nothing for miles, nothing but sand, dunes, wind, and a mountain formation in the distance. No hint of any human habitation, not recently at least, and anyone who had ever dwelt or built anything here, even a tomb, must have been as out of their mind as their employer. No river nearby, no easy way to transport stone or workers or supplies or anything to build even a small tomb. What the hell did their leader expect to find here?

But even if he was crazy, his money was not, and so soon the camp was filled with hundreds of people eagerly setting to task the machines their employer had brought with them, the best money could provide. The silence of the desert was filled with the noises and shouts of people at work and soon something happened which even the most optimistic of the workers had found surprising. 

They found something.

Just a few meters underneath the sand, as if it had just buried recently, they found fallen stones here and there, a few old coins lying carelessly tossed around under the sand, a broken column…The first signs of a city built in the middle of the desert.

Their work had doubled after this first break, as had their enthusiasm, but the smiles they wore through the first days soon disappeared. People began to whisper and clutch the amulets they brought with them a little tighter, and their glances became more suspicious. Stories started to fly around about their leader and the men accompanying him: this small group at the head of their expedition who seemed so obsessed with this particular patch of desert it turned from entertaining to frighetning really fast. Then people began to whisper about weird noises in the night, about something moving under the sand, as if something was waiting for them, hunting them. Some claimed to hear insects in the wind, the buzzing of a whole swarm of hungry little beetles or locusts. Others were sure that there was something watching them in the darkness. And some even claimed that late at night, when even the last worker stopped, just barely an hour before dawn broke, you could hear screams: the desperate screams of someone dying in the desert.

But in the end what was there to be afraid of? It was just the desert, nothing more, hiding just a few stone bricks, maybe even those ceramic pieces the foreigners were always so crazy about. Nothing different from any other expedition, just farther into the desert. 

And yet…

And yet slowly there was a name, only whispered, never spoken aloud, at first accompanied by nervous laughter, but later by fearful glances, spoken softer and softer, as if they could call it into being just by naming it:  _ Hamunaptra. _

They knew the stories, every one of them. About the riches. And the curse. The rumour that nearly two years ago some Americans had actually found the legendary city, and that every one of them had died horribly as their price for desecrating the sacred ground. Could that be what they were looking for? Was their group the next expedition to disappear on the search for the cursed city?

Once the rumours started to grow, the first workers began to rebel. They demanded to talk to the expedition leader. He listened calmly to the workers’ complaints, to their demands for answers, or that, if answers would not be forthcoming they would be brought back to Cairo or the nearest human settlement immediately. Then he nodded and grabbed the gun at his side and shot the speaker of the group point blank in the heart.

While everyone looked on in horrified silence, too shocked to realise what had just happened the leader stood up, carefully stepping over the corpse at his feet without even sparing it a glance, and addressed the workers. His words were clear: Anyone who even thought about the name Hamunaptra, or considered to spread even more dissent, would share his unfortunate victim’s fate. They were paid to finish a job and that was all they would do. And with a look on the smoking weapon still in his hand, or at the soldiers who had suddenly surrounded everyone moving so silently they had never heard them, their weapons drawn at them, eyes bank, ready to mow them all down with no hesitation, the workers complied. 

Some of them disappeared on the next night, preferring to take their chances with the endless and merciless desert rather than being killed by the cursed city or by the madman forcing them to work there. Some of them even made it out of the camp before they were gunned down. The others kept working, heads bowed low, while hope disappeared and nothing but fear remained. And two nights after that, they finally found what their captor was searching for.

They had been digging for hours, the pit in the ground at least five meters deep, when suddenly the ground beneath them trembled. Like the rings in water from a stone thrown, the tremors raced outwards from the centre of the pit through the whole camp and then stopped. For a moment nobody moved, even the wind seemed to have ceased its blowing, while the workers threw fearful glances at each other. They were too afraid to move, and yet not daring to quit work altogether. After a short moment of silence where nothing happened, they relaxed slightly, taking a few careful steps closer to the epicentre of the tremors, ready to continue the work, when a small hill began to rise out of the sand, as if a spring had shot up. The workers drew closer, wearily watching this strange sight, unsure what to make of it, but so tired of fear that they couldn't muster the energy to be truly afraid anymore. Then the top of the small hill exploded and a whole flood of small, greenish glittering scarabs busted out of it. They reached the workers in seconds, even as they tried to run and scale the sandy walls of the pit. Whomever they reached the scarabs devoured in seconds, leaving only mummified, holey skin and bones behind. 

Four or five workers were already devoured that way, the others still running for their lives, when the soldiers came. Row after row they marched down into the pit, no reaction visible on their faces. They raised the flamethrowers they now carried instead of their machine guns, and began to burn the scarabs faster than they could retaliate. Bright flames shot through the night, their light eerily flickering over the emotionless faces of the soldiers. The workers wore white masks, nearly out of their minds with fear and glittering over the keratin shells of the scarabs that fled the deadly flames. 

It was over in seconds. A few scarabs still remained to scuttle for their lives, while one of the soldiers gestured with his head to the workers, watching in awe and fear, to continue their work.

A few meters away, the expedition leader, who had watched the whole scene from under the sunshade erected to protect their finds from the glare of the sun, nodded once and turned back to the table behind him. “We are getting close.” 

The Egyptian man next to him, dressed in white robes and turban, nodded too, his blue eyes as cold and emotionless as glass. “Very close.” His eyes flowed to the leader, while he in turn watched the two books lying on the table in front of him.

They had just been unearthed hours before, the first hint that they had finally stuck the right point. Both books were breath-taking, complicated works of art, mirrors and opposites of each other. One was created out of gold, gleaming in the lamplight as if Ra's light itself had been captured in it. The other was made from obsidian, as black as the starless night sky without Chons’ silvery shine. Even their carvings were mirrors of one another, the curvy lines bending away from each other. Both books bore a cartouche with hieroglyphics on the left side of their cover, near the mechanism making it possible to turn their pages, but only the golden book had the ankh, the symbol of life in this cartouche too. The other didn't need it. Carved scarabs rose from all four corners on both their covers, keeping them closed and locked. There were also the keyholes needed to open them: a round upheaval with a slight depression in the middle, taking the form of a star or sun, and bearing a carving of a winged scarab with a sun disk over its head.

With a dark smile the leader raised his hand, and let it glide slowly over the black book. “The Book of the Dead which gives life…” 

His companion stepped beside him. “And the Book of Life which takes it away.” 

A snort could be heard behind them, as a third man stepped into the makeshift tent. “I thought that was my job.” He was pale, a rarity even among the English in this country where it was almost impossible to escape the merciless rays of the sun, no matter how hard one tried. His forehead was high, his eyes small and dark, glinting with the same cruel pleasure which was reflected in his smile. Short, blond hair that was clearly dyed ran along the top of his head, and three small gold rings blinked from his left ear. He regarded the books with only the faintest of interests.

The leader turned to him and shot him a short, clipped smile. “Your turn will come soon. You know what we need you to get?” 

The cruel smile on the blond man’s face deepened. “Oh yes. It won't be a challenge.” 

The leader just nodded. “You better deliver it soon. We need the bracelet before it opens.” 

The blond man opened his mouth as if to answer, but shouts behind them, coming from the pit, interrupted him. 

“We found it!” 

“We found him!”

All three men turned around to watch as, bound with ropes and under the aid of heavy machines, something was lifted from the pit. At first it seemed like an impossibly big crystal, then a gigantic piece of amber which slowly rose against the night sky. The floodlights and torches illuminating the scene let it glint in a myriad of ways, so that at first it was hard to see if anything was preserved in the crystal shell. But as it was slowly lowered into a chest filled with hay and ready to be transported, a black human-like shape could be seen in it. It was the mummified remains of some poor person, horribly twisted as if in great pain or torn into many different directions. The tortured soul had frozen into then amber, and yet, even though the amber made it hard to see the figure clearly and it's face was so twisted and rotten that any emotion was equally hard to discern, its lips almost seemed to smile.

A smile which, in a much darker and greedier variation, was answered on the leaders face. “Yes, that's him. The dark one’s host and capturer.” 

The Egyptian man next to him turned his head slightly. “Then we are finished here.” 

The smile on the leaders face turned cruel, as his eyes flittered over the workers watching the proceedings at the pit. “Yes, we are.”

Neither they nor the workers noticed the man walking away from the pit and gliding into the shadows. He was dressed like the workers in the same simple cotton clothes, but his movements, if anyone would have paid any attention to them, spoke of someone very different. He moved with a quiet assurance, the self-confidence of someone who had never in his life bowed to anyone else, and even here in the cursed remains of the city of the dead he seemed to be completely at ease, as if he was walking through his own home. Sharp blue eyes glared out under the turban and the scarves protecting his face against the desert winds and sands; eyes that missed nothing, and that now narrowed in vexation as they swept over the camp, and lingered for a moment on the three men in the tent overwatching the scene. 

He turned away and disappeared into the dark of the desert night, leaving behind a city which should have never risen again

For more than two years Hamunaptra, the city of the dead, had laid untouched. The desert had finally claimed the legendary city and trapped it underneath its sands. Any trace of it on the surface had been destroyed: the columns and walls finally gone, and even the statue of Seth, Lord of the Red Land and guardian of the palace, had been crushed, its duty finally fulfilled after millenniums of watch. Not even the sunrise should have been able to show an unlucky wanderer through the desert where he might find his end. And yet these men had found it with a certainty in their steps which should have been impossible for any living person.

The city’s tunnels and halls had been destroyed, broken down and torn by rock slides. Not a single room had remained intact, its treasures finally destroyed and cast away, its terrible history buried forever. And whatever was once sleeping in those halls, captive and sacrifice keeping it trapped together, should have forever slept alone.

But sometimes eternity is shorter than it seems.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

_ Thebes, Three months later _

The corridor in front of him was dark and cold and moist and entirely full of cobwebs for Joey’s comfort. He took another careful step ahead, watching his breath mist in front of him. Great, just perfect. How the hell had Yugi talked him into this? Again. After what had happened two years ago, after Hamunaptra, he had had enough of Ancient Egyptian ruins, temples, and whatever weird stuff the Egyptians had shoved down there to be forgotten. The moment they had returned to Cairo, exhausted but alive, and found the city’s population confused but well and decidedly un-zombified, he had practically thrown himself to the ground, swearing to whatever god happened to be listening at that time, that he would never ever set foot into anywhere like Hamunaptra again. He had meant it, more than anything else in his life before or after.

Hamunaptra haunted him even now. Weeks and months could pass without even a thought of the city lulling him into a kind of security, almost getting him to believe that it was over, that he had finally put everything behind him, that the memories were just that now: memories, nothing that could hurt…

And then suddenly a night would turn bad, and he would find himself back in the endless corridors of the city of the dead, running with a swarm of those cursed, flesh-eating scarabs on his heels, the screams of his friends in his ears, without being able to find them. Then he would walk straight through Cairo’s zombie mob to face the decaying remains of a mummy grinning at him. On those nights he woke drenched in his own sweat, heart racing, and he wouldn't be able to find any sleep till morning. It was barely, but just barely, worse than the memories he still dragged behind him from his past, and it said more about old Zorc than Joey would like to think about that he could manage to give them a run for their money.

And he wasn't the only one struggling with those dreams and memories, that much he knew. Sometimes there were times when even Yugi's smile looked just a little bit faked, where Tristan’s eyes turned dark, when Yugi's grandfather refused to even look at the Egyptian antiquities he so loved. Where Miho, walking through the Egyptian museum she knew like one of her books, would suddenly jump at a shadow moving wrong in the mummies gallery, or where Tea, at work, would whirl around, to jump at a sound behind her, and try to mask that fear with a false smile. And Ryou…really nobody could blame him, the guy had been dragged through a worse hell than Joey ever wanted to imagine. Given that, he was doing almost unbelievably well. But he doubted there would ever come a time when Ryou wouldn't be afraid of his own shadow.

So why the hell was he here in another one of those god forsaken temples? This country had way too many of them anyway and they weren't exactly small; most of them anyway, he should have been able to avoid. But no, not even mummies and the near end of the world could keep Yugi away from his fascination with Ancient Egypt. It would take much more than Zorc to do that. And when Yugi had started to go off about this particular one, a ruin on the west side of the river, near the ancient necropolis and then, with a sly smile, mentioned that he had had dreams again, not about Hamunaptra but about this temple… Honestly, Joey couldn't let him go there alone, could he?

And that was why he was again stalking through endless dark corridors full of cobwebs. He grimaced as he slowly lifted his hand to tear down another one blocking his path. God, he hoped those cobwebs were only the result of a whole host of tiny little spiders having centuries for their work, because otherwise he really didn't want to meet the beast responsible for creating them. Those creatures were big enough to block the whole corridor after all.

But even as he continued on his way, raising his torch to illuminate every possible dark crook hiding down in the ruins, his other hand twitching towards the gun at his side, he had to admit that whoever had built this corridor certainly had put a lot of work into it. 

For centuries nobody had walked here, and from how they had discovered it, hidden behind a collapsed wall near the centre of the temple, the most holy place of the whole compound according to Yugi, where only the priests themselves were allowed to enter, there probably weren’t a lot of people who had seen the ruins before either. Yet the stone walls were meticulously carved, raised reliefs depicting hieroglyphic texts and something Joey suspected were mythological scenes covering every surface on them, with columns, equally carved, placed in regular intervals between the scenes. 

His gaze wandered over the walls, gliding over a carved hippo raised triumphantly out of the serrated lines depicting water. A falcon attacked this same hippo, and boats glided over the water. One picture in particular appeared again and again: a strange, dog-like creature, yet different from any dog Joey had ever seen. He stopped shortly in front of one of these carvings, suspicion growing in his mind. He had seen this dog before, or at least something similar-looking. He just couldn't quite place it. Of course, he could try to read the hieroglyphs next to it to see if maybe that creature was named, but that would take a while, and Joey was still not comfortable lingering around in underground hallways—not if he was still sure a monster would jump out from behind the corner to attack him.

He turned away from the strange animal on the wall. The whole passage might have been beautiful underneath that cold stone and the moisture and cobwebs of the centuries covering everything, but Joey still would have preferred to be anywhere else than here. The faster they got out of here, the better. He took another step forward only to nearly jump out of his skin, as something ran around the corner ahead of him and barrelled straight into him.

Joey screamed, half-falling, half-stepping back, raising his gun, sure that this was it, another mummy rising from the grave. Or Zorc maybe, having come to take his revenge at least, to finally kill the ones who stopped him before. Or that a flood of those triple-cursed human-eating beetles was on his heels…. When he realised that whatever had collided with him had screamed too before it fell down. And that  _ this person  _ was now laughing.

With shaking hands he raised his torch and nearly collapsed on himself when he saw who was just climbing to his feet, grinning from ear to ear. “Jaden?” He could hear the relief, and the still-lingering breathlessness of the shock, in his voice as he glared at the boy standing in front of him. Just Jaden, nothing more. No mummies, no scarabs, not here in this ruin. Just a boy who wasn't were he should be.

Jaden grinned up at him, his brown eyes sparkling. “Everything all right? You just screamed as if a mummy had come to life.” 

Joey just rolled his eyes, even as something in him recoiled from this words. God, if that kid knew… He didn't mind Jaden, not really. Kid had his heart in the right place even if he could be really annoying sometimes. He seemed to be incapable of keeping still, always in motion, always looking for something. One minute Joey was sure he was standing right beside him, and in the next Jaden was halfway across the room, curiously picking up some old ceramic shards or a small statue. No, Joey was beginning to understand why Isis had sent the boy with them, why she had claimed in the letter that boy had carried with him, that he might be better suited to the field and not the museum. He was pitying every museum piece or book that came into contact with Jaden. The poor library had barely recovered from Yugi's accident there; the last thing it needed was a repeat. And the boy was bright, a fast learner, and obviously glad to be out here. All of that still didn't change the fact that he had nearly given Joey a heart attack just now.

Slowly catching his breath, Joey sent the boy one last glare and shook his head. “I'm going to tell you that story another time. Preferably in ten years or so.” He looked up, and regarded the boy curiously. “Wait, what are you even doing down here? Shouldn't you be upstairs with Tristan and Ryou?” What the hell had possessed them to let that kid out of their eyes? Ok, maybe that was not a question he would ever ask Ryou directly, but seriously? Jaden was fourteen; they had at least some sort of responsibility for him, and down here, in the tunnels which, apart from being filled with the mummies and creepy bugs of Joey’s haunted imagination, were old enough that them being unstable was a real possibility, were not a place he should be. 

He and the other two were supposed to look through the main hall of the temple on the surface, the only one of its buildings still standing. Normally that would have been enough to occupy Jaden’s mind, so why was he down here? 

Jaden looked at him and a grin spread over his face. “I saw your tattoo!” He sounded like he had made the discovery of the century. Too bad for him that Joey just stared at the kid like he had started to talk old Babylonian. 

“What?”

Joey's mind had drawn an absolute blank for a second. That sentence—Jaden’s claim—had come so far left from where his thoughts had lingered that he really had no idea what he was talking about, till Jaden rolled his eyes and gestured to Joey's right hand. “You know, the one on your wrist? A big ink picture, pretty hard to overlook? It was on the wall too.”

Oh, that one. Joey automatically glanced down to his arm where a leather band was wrapped over the wrist. He tended to forget it was there most of the time. Wanted to forget it was there to be honest. He still wasn't sure whether it had been a mistake to get it, to listen to that crazy old coot babbling on about fate and forgiveness. Haft of what the man had said he had already forgotten, but…but that last thing about forgiveness had stayed with him. Long enough that, when that terrible night had happened, when he had been sixteen and terrified out of his mind, ready to leave his old life behind, he had sought the old madman out and gotten that tattoo. Not because he believed in fate or anything like that, but because it had seemed fitting. A different mark instead of the one he hadn't wanted to take, a different road to go down…and a promise that, whatever would happen, he would never go back. 

And still he kept it covered most of the time, because seriously that whole thing had been such a fucking crazy idea. If he hadn’t been that out of his mind both with fear and loathing he would have never gotten it at all. And also because, on the first few days afterwards, it had been a constant reminder whenever he had stumbled, whenever his temper had gotten the better of him, whenever he had gotten too much like his father. Or like him. It was better now, both his control and his view about himself, but he still didn't quite like to look at it. To ask himself if he had actually succeeded at the promise he gave himself. When the hell Jaden had even had a chance to see it, he really didn't want to know. For all his restlessness the boy wasn't missing much.

But none of that explained why Jaden was now claiming he had seen his tattoo in a millennia-old temple. Joey tore his gaze away from the leather band and looked back to Jaden, who was whipping up and down on his feet, clearly impatient for Joey to tear himself out of the memories he had wandered down. 

“You found that? Where?”

Jaden shrugged. “Upstairs, in the main hall, on a wall near the entrance. Hard to miss as big as it was, and it got all the details right. The cartouche with the pyramid and the eye, and the two uraeus snakes with the red crown and—” He gestured around vaguely. “Everything.”

Yeah, that did sound like his tattoo. Too much for Joey's comfort. The design was incredibly specific, something Joey had seen nowhere else since the night he got it. A pyramid overlaid with the eye of Horus, the pupil right in its centre, two curved tails fanning out underneath it—instead of the one those symbols usually bore—framing a single teardrop in their middle. A sun disk was crowing the pyramid, itself guarded by the two uraeus snakes Jaden had just mentioned, each wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt, their tails meeting right in the pyramids top. It was utterly ridiculous, something Tristan had taken a particular delight in pointing out when he had seen it. That poor bastard had nearly thrown himself on the floor with laughter back then. And it was impossible to mistake it for anything else.

The mere thought that the same design would be carved into an old temple, at a place where people hadn't walked for centuries… Joey didn't even want to finish that thought. No, thank you. That just screamed more mythical bullshit, and he had had enough of that last for several lifetimes. Still he could almost feel the tattoo itching underneath the leather band as he shook his head and turned to Jaden again.

“Ok, me and Yugi will be up there to take a look at it in a minute.” And damn it, he hoped Yugi had something to say about that, something that would reassure Joey that this was just an incredibly unlikely coincidence. Maybe it was just an old symbol for something or another, something even the old crazy man would have known, and decided to claim for himself. Something common and definitely not mysterious.

True, Yugi hadn't said anything particular about the tattoo when he had finally seen it, apart from naming the crowns and the uraeus snakes, and marvelling at the detail work. The chance that he wouldn't say even one word about anything to do with Ancient Egypt was smaller than the entire Nile suddenly running dry, but Joey was ready to cling to whatever hope he could find. 

“But in the meantime, you go back to the others and wait for us there. Now go.”

He shooed Jaden away, who rolled his eyes at that, clearly having expected some other reaction to his great discovery, but still complied with a few steps in the direction of the corridor. However that didn't mean he wasn't going to try and stay. 

“But…” Jaden began. 

Jaden had barely half turned his head when Joey was already shaking his, pushing him forward. He was gentler than he would have been with Tristan or even Yugi, but that didn't mean he was giving Jaden much chance of changing directions. 

“No, no. You pick up your stuff and we'll see you in the temple.”

Jaden frowned, tearing himself away from Joey, and folding his arms in front of his chest. “And what am I supposed to be doing in the meantime?” 

Joey just looked at him. How the hell did he know? He was busy enough not to talk himself into another panic attack at the thought of possible mummy uprisings and mystical tattoos marking him. He didn't have the brain space left to think about something like that. “I don't know, surprise me.” 

Those words were usually a big mistake when it came to Jaden and his limitless supply of energy, but really, what was the worst he could do? Bring the whole temple down on them? 

Joey shrugged. “Build a better mousetrap?” They were everywhere here. The ancient temple had clearly been their home for generations, and they weren't that happy sharing it with visitors now. Joey could hardly take a step without seeing a small shadow rushing by just right in the corner of his eye, and it wasn’t really helping his fraying nerves.

Jaden rolled his eyes again, but at least he was moving “Ok, ok.” He turned the corner, back on the way which would lead him upstairs again, yet clearly couldn't resist turning his head one last time. “Just don't desecrate a tomb while I'm away!” With that he was gone. 

Joey shook his head and stifled a wince. With their luck Yugi was already halfway done with doing exactly that to the tomb. Casting a worried look down the corridor he turned back to the way he had been travelling down before Jaden had interrupted his journey. He definitely should go and check up on Yugi.

Yugi actually hadn't gotten around to desecrating a tomb just yet. At the same moment Joey had finally convinced Jaden to leave Yugi was standing just two corridors down from them, drawing a brush carefully over the surface of a wall to free the relief from the centuries of dust covering it. Made with fine lines sunken into the stone, it looked slightly older than the reliefs in the other parts of the temple, indicating that they were coming closer to the heart of this place. Yugi had been dreaming about this tomb for the last couple of weeks.

He stepped back with a sigh, and let his eyes glide over the relief. It depicted two men, the one on the left taller than the one on the right, both wearing masks covering their faces. They stood in fighting positions, a copesh sword in their left hand, held in front of them, and the right hand bearing an axe raised over their heads, mirroring each other. It was a strange scene for a temple, but then this whole temple was strange. Strange in a way which reminded him almost of Hamunaptra.

He hadn’t mentioned that to Joey, mostly because his friend was already out of his mind with worry, but the similarities were definitely there, and it wasn't even the dreams. Yugi had never dreamed about Hamunaptra, not in the way he was dreaming about this temple now, walking through corridors lit with torched and free from cobwebs and the signs of wear and age. Oh he had wanted to find the city of the dead for most of his life, had imagined about what it looked like. Hamunaptra had been his dream, but he hadn't dreamed about it.

No, what was similar were the few details which didn't quite fit into the usual mould. Egyptian work like this temple was not art for the sake of art; it always had a purpose. And most of the time it was pretty formulaic. You could look at the text on a stela and if you recognised its genre you could know what was written on it without barely reading a word. The details might vary slightly, but the main sentence and meaning stayed the same. So when he was walking through a temple dedicated to Seth right in Upper Egypt, the part of the country usually belonging to Horus, something was very wrong with the world. Just like the Seth statue in Hamunaptra, it belonged to the Delta, not to Thebes.

It was irritating, an itch that was just barely out of reach and yet…and yet the whole temple felt so familiar, so comfortable as if he had just stepped back into an old home. Which, given the fact that it had been a recent discovery and quite abandoned for millennia, and coupled with his dreams, this probably didn't say a lot of good things about his state of mind.

Yugi should have been worried, everything about the temple should have frightened him. But it felt right to be here. While he never wanted to see Hamunaptra again, while he was glad that the city had finally been destroyed and sunken underneath the sand, that nobody would die there ever again, that Zorc was gone…sometimes there was a nostalgic feeling to his memories of the city, of the few days before he had read from the Book of the Dead and accidentally unleashed evil incarnate on the world. It had been his dream come true, and it was hard not to smile when thinking about it. About Atem…

A soft hissing behind him tore Yugi from his memories. He turned around, the sweet ache always accompanying his memories of Hamunaptra fading as he blinked, searching for the source of that noise. It took him a moment, after finding not a single sight of movement in the hall around him, to look down and see a bright red snake with a broad band of black scales around its throat creeping along the sand-covered floor in front of him. Yugi's shoulders slacked in relief; for a moment he had expected so much worse than just a red spitting cobra. He sighed again, and looked at the snake. It was pretty, and he was definitely intruding on its territory, but that didn’t mean he needed it that close to him. 

“Go away.” 

In one fast movement he brought his shoe underneath the snake and kicked it away. Hissing angrily, it barely managed to miss Joey who had the bad luck of walking around the bend of the corridor right at that moment. Stiffing a curse he glared at the snake, which glided away as fast as it could. Perfect, just perfect. That fit the rest of this day so fucking perfectly. 

He turned around to Yugi who was covering his mouth in surprise. “Sorry.” Yugi threw him and apologetic smile, and Joey sighed. 

“You know they are poisonous, right?” His friends smile deepened. 

“Venomous. And only when they bite you.” 

Joey shot him a look. “Oh, thank you. That is so reassuring.” Now Yugi really had to smile as Joey stepped up to him. The slight tension which had filled the building earlier—haunting remains of Hamunaptra—seemed to have completely dispersed, like morning mist cleared away by sunlight. 

He turned back to the relief on the wall, lifting his head slightly to speak to Joey who was squinting over his shoulder. “I think I heard you talking to someone just now. Something wrong?”

Joey shook his head. “No, nothing, just Jaden. He wanted to show me something.” Like hell he was going to be talking about his tattoo now. That could wait until they were back above ground and closer to the sunlight. He blinked at the relief. “Are they supposed to attack each other?” 

Yugi shrugged. “I'm not sure. It could be a ritualistic fight…” He trailed off. It felt true in a way, and wrong in another, and he couldn't really explain either of those feelings. Just that something about the relief was holding his attention, something just right outside his memory, so that he couldn't reach it. Whatever it was, it wasn't making him feel as comfortable as the rest of the temple.

He shook his head, trying to shove the feeling away, and turned towards Joey holding his work tools. “But you could help me with something…” He picked up a small hammer and chisel, and turned around only to see Joey look at them unbelievingly. 

“Are you sure those aren't toys?” 

Yugi nearly rolled his eyes. The tools were small yes, but they were also meant for precise work. They couldn't just break down every wall they encountered and destroy millennium-old works of art in the process. Not that nearly every one of the first “explorers” in Egypt hadn’t done exactly that, trampling through this country like an elephant in a porcelain shop, destroying everything that didn't look like gold or treasure. 

But they were better than that. They had to be better. 

“Please?”

Joey held his gaze for a moment, and honestly, Yugi knew it was a bit unfair. Not one of his friends had ever been able to disagree with him when he struck that tone, eyes wide and voice soft. Tea had claimed once that it should even be considered a banned weapon. But this was important to him, and he wasn't using this tone as much as he could anyway. 

In the end Joey sighed. “Ok. Though you realise this will take ages.” Ages they were still stuck down here instead of being able to leave, he meant. 

Still Yugi smiled up at him, as bright as the sun. “Thank you!” A few hours more… In his mind that was well worth preventing possible destruction from occurring. Nothing had attacked them in this temple yet, so he was sure it wouldn't do them much harm to linger a bit longer. 

And in the end Joey was lucky. He had barely turned towards the wall, placed the tiny chisel in the small rift between the stones making it up, and started to hammer carefully away, when the whole wall carefully fell backward, as if it had just waited for him to do so.

For a moment he and Yugi blinked at each other and the wall. 

Joey shrugged. “Must have hit the right spot. Or this thing was ready to collapse at the slightest touch.” The wall hadn't collapsed exactly, as Yugi could ascertain when he carefully stepped over it, torch raised high over his head. It was completely unharmed, just now laying flat on the ground instead of standing upright. Thought the same couldn't be said about any of the scorpions and spiders it had hit on its way down.

The whole room behind the wall, a small octagonal chamber, was crawling with them. There must have been hundreds of them, filling almost every corner of the sandy floor. Any space that wasn't covered with venomous and potentially-venomous creatures was instead occupied by skulls and bones of suspiciously human origins, and even they had to deal with spiders and scorpions crawling over them. It wasn't the most pleasant of looks, and Yugi could see Joey shuddering beside him out of the corner of his eye. Though he was sure that was much more due to the skulls, and the fact that the walls of this chamber were entirely made up with niches filled with even more mortal remains. Joey's problem with the dead hadn't exactly been helped by the whole Zorc and Hamunaptra experience. 

Yugi turned to him, and offered him an encouraging smile. “They won't walk.” He was surprised by his own sureness. “Whomever was buried here must have been honoured, being so close to the sanctum. And none of them are chained down.” Somehow Joey didn't seem to find this as helpful as Yugi hoped.

“Yeah, I'm only going to believe that when we are safely out of here in one piece.” Joey threw a gaze both distasteful and fearful across the walls. ”Are you sure we need to go through here?” His voice sounded almost pleading. Yugi could feel compassion course through him. His friend really didn't want to be here. 

“No. We don't.” He smiled at Joey. “Nothing will happen to me. You can just turn back and join the others. I'm sure Tristan and Ryou need more help with Jaden anyway.” And he was barely surprised to find that his words were true.

He wasn't feeling threatened, or in danger in this place, not in the slightest. If someone had put a scarf over his eyes and told him to find his way here he was sure that he could have done it, even halfway disorientated after being woken up suddenly. He knew this place. And that should have worried him, for the last time he had felt so sure about something, like he was walking through a dream, had been when they had made their way to Hamunaptra. Instead it just made it all the more important for him to continue on. He needed to know what was waiting at the end of this dreamwalk.

For a moment Joey looked tempted, but then he shook his head. “Nice try, Yugi. But I can't let you start the next mummy apocalypse without supervision.” 

Yugi rolled his eyes. “That was one time.” He carefully made his way across the room, jumping over any crawling things at his feet to make sure he was only stepping on sand. “And everything worked out in the end. Besides.” He raised his torch higher, and let his gaze glide over the room, and the door to the next one. “Ever since I had that dream, this place is all I can think about.

Joey raised his eyes heavenwards before he moved to join Yugi. “That one time was enough. And I'm sure the Americans would disagree about how well everything turned out.” He saw Yugi flinch slightly and nearly bit his tongue. Damn, that had been a bit too far. They all still felt guilty about what happened to the other teams making their way to Hamunaptra. Bandit Keith, Sid, Bonz and Zygor…none of them had deserved their fate, and neither Yugi nor the others had forgotten them. So Joey walked ahead, not caring on what exactly he was stepping and what that crunching noise under his boots was. He kept his voice lightly as he spoke again. “And since you had that dream, I haven’t had a full night’s sleep.” Mostly because of worry about what that dream might mean.

Yugi nodded. The guilt about the Americans was still here. It would probably never truly leave him. Because it was his fault, even if he hadn't known what he was doing. If he hadn't read from the book… 

But he couldn't change the past, and so he just did what he could, offering up a bit more about what was drawing him to this place. A peace offering, just like Joey's last sentence. “I feel like I've been here before.” He stopped at the wall opposite from the entrance and turned slightly back to Joey. “I know I've been here before.” It felt strange to say it out loud, as if that would make it more real, but it was true. He had been here before, walked this exact set of rooms. He knew this place with every fibre of his being. 

Joey snorted. “Yugi, nobody has been here before. Not in at least 3000 years.” He gestured with a small shudder to the skeletons in the walls. “Except for these guys.” His gaze slid away from the skeletons immediately, and Yugi could hear the forced joke in his voice. Joey clearly wanted out of this room, and he also clearly didn't want to think about the possible implications of Yugi claiming to have been here before. Too bad Yugi could only help him with one of those wishes.

He turned his head, the gesture entirely automatic, as if he had done it a hundred times before, and grabbed one of the torch holders on the wall next to him. It looked exactly like every other torch holder in this room, old, hardly holding its form together, and covered in so many cobwebs it was barely possible to see what it was. But this one gave way under Yugi's hand; he could drag it down into a different angle with unexpected ease and only a little bit of difficulty given the age of the mechanism. The moment the torch holder clicked into place the sound of stone grinding over stone filled the chamber. The wall next to Yugi and Joey swung backwards like a door, skeleton filled niches and all, giving way to the next part of the temple.

Yugi turned back to Joey and, seeing his friends wide eyes, smiled. But underneath the joy of discovery, of being home, there was a growing unease and slight fear that turned his smile dark. He liked being here, but the fact that he was drawn to this place could hardly mean something good. And yet it felt so right to be here. 

“Then why do I know exactly where to go?”


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

The mountains concealing the Valley of the Kings rose up behind the temple, shimmering in the midday heat. Barely anyone sand would be moving about outside now, with summer reaching its high and the temperatures climbing to unbearable degrees. Even if it had been a bit colder and more manageable, there weren't a lot of people interested in reaching some old temple ruins. They hardly promised the chance for big treasures, in contrast to the tombs littering this area, and there was hardly anything left of this building either way. A few obelisks, the remains of a pylon, a few walls in the distance, and the main building by the sacred lake, marked out by the statues linking the columns making up its front. Yugi and his friends had had every reason to expect being completely undisturbed during their work there. And yet the three men riding up to the temple clearly had every intention of staying.

Their leader jumped off his camel in one smooth movement. A gun tucked into his belt caught the light of the sun, just like the dagger he tucked beside it. His companions, now too dismounting, were similarly armed. A cruel grin spread over his face as he turned to regard the temple. “So that's the garbage dump were the bracelet is supposed to be hidden?” His small, dark eyes wandered over the camels already tied down in front of the temple, and he snorted. “Looks like we got some company.” The grin on his face deepened, and with a sharp gesture of his head he indicated for his companions to move. Three golden rings glinted from his left ear. “Let's go. It's time that we introduce ourselves.” The dark anticipation in his voice was so strong it could almost be tasted in the air, and his companions’ grins matched his own as they strode forward.

Jaden had only been back in the main hall for about ten minutes and he was already starting to get bored again. Tristan and Ryou were busy on the opposite end of the main hall, discussing some of the ceramic shards littering the floor. Jaden had started drawing them, the concentration required for this mechanical work enough to bind his wandering mind for a while, especially once he had come to the ostracon, the tiny paintings or short notes people had left of them. Such things had always fascinated him more than even the biggest treasures, though those had their own draw too. Those funny little paintings, often parodies, left behind by ordinary people. In contrast to the often almost-stiffening serious and heavy official works of art, those ostraca were a swift breeze. It was one of the reasons he had taken to Yugi's tries to teach him how to read hieroglyphs so well; he wanted to know what those ostraca said.

His hand glided over the ceramic shards in front of him, before stopping on one and lifting it to his face. It was his favourite of the ones he had seen here now, only one drawing and a very strange one at that. Maybe that was why he liked it so much. The right angle the lines drawn onto this shard looked almost like a fluff ball, with two pairs of tiny clawed hands and feet, eyes almost as big as its round body, and a pair of wings, too small looking for the rest of its body, sprouting from its sides. Jaden had no idea what this was supposed to be, and he hadn't had time to ask Yugi either, but no matter how many shards he catalogued and drew, sooner or later his hands found this particular one again. If he looked at it long enough he could have sworn he heard something, a strange sound like a distant giggling. Almost as if he could hear the creature in the little painting. He smiled at the thought. 

But even being busy with this shard Jaden’s mind had wandered, his gaze lifting from his work back and back again to the gigantic carving on the wall: Joey's tattoo. Strange that Joey hadn't wanted him to see it; Jaden would have been overjoyed to find himself having something that would connect him to an old temple. It sounded like the beginning of a story. Instead Joey had clearly not been interested, almost frightened about the carving, which was a really strange reaction. 

But no matter how long Jaden stared at the relief, it wouldn't give up his mysteries, and since there was no chance the uraeus snakes would suddenly jump from the wall to tell him why Joey was so unnerved by them, and since he couldn't concentrate on his work anyway, he could just as well get up and see if he could find something else with which to occupy himself. 

He had barely walked three steps in the direction of the entrance when he saw a shadow growing ahead of him. Clearly human shaped shadows. Jaden blinked at them for a second, long enough to hear the sound of steps accompanying those shadows, before he jumped around and ran towards the others. His hand tightened automatically, and a sharp cut alerted him to the fact that he still held the shard with the fluff ball. He must have forgotten to put it down. Hardly breaking a step he shoved it into his pocket. There were other things to worry about now; he could drop the shard back with the others later. Right now they had strangers drawing near. He wasn't sure what anyone would want out here, but since he and the others were supposed to be the only ones working at this temple, he could imagine that either Tristan or Ryou should probably know that they could expect company. 

A persistent tugging at his right jacket sleeve tore Tristan’s attention away from cleaning the latest shards. He turned around, eyes narrowed, and swallowed back another sigh. If the boy had to show him another discovery of his, he would be stuck with writing lists all afternoon. He didn't care what lists, Tristan would find something for him to write down, preferably something mind-numbingly boring. 

“Jaden, what…” He didn't get to finish his question, before Jaden shook his head and covered his own lips with a finger, indicating for him to be silent. Tristan blinked down at him, wondering if the boy had caught sun stroke or something because this was strange even for him. 

Next to him Ryou lifted his head with a confused glance, turning his head slightly towards the corridor leading to their room. “Someone is coming?” 

Tristan still could barely hear anything, and Ryou sounded more questioning than sure, but something about his friend's tone, a slight undercurrent of fear which shouldn't have been there, not in the middle of the day, not just because someone decided to take a stroll to a temple, as mad as that was, made the hairs on his neck rise. Ryou's unsureness and Jaden’s sudden insistence on silence when the boy was usually anything but subtle and silent… He had no explanation for that, and he was sure neither of them could have offered one if he had asked them point blank, but suddenly there seemed to be danger in the air, and the only reason Tristan had survived long enough to be nearly killed by a mummy two years ago was that he had learned to trust this sudden, all too familiar feeling. It was almost like the bad old times. 

He nodded shortly, and grabbed Jaden by the shoulder. “Up there.” His voice was barely a whisper, as he gestured with his head towards the scaffold they had set up over the last few days. They boy was small enough that he wouldn't be seen from the ground if he lied flat on the top layer. To Jaden’s credit he just nodded, and in the next second he was already climbing the ladder up there, his fastness working in his favour.

For Ryou and him, Tristan dragged his friend into the shadow of one of the columns surrounding the room. It was not an ideal hiding place but neither of them were as fast of a climber as Jaden, and they had a greater chance of being noticed on the scaffold. But the columns were broad and the shadows surrounding them dark, and if their new guests wouldn't look into that particular corner of the wide room, they could easily be unnoticed.

Tristan pressed himself flat against the hieroglyphs carved into the column, and glanced around the corner. Now he could hear something too, voices drawing nearer—loud, boisterous, clearly not caring if anyone would notice them. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ryou bending forward too. 

“Who would come here?” Ryou's voice was soft and calm, but his eyes were narrowed. Something clearly irked him about the new arrivals, and damn it, Tristan must have caught the madness in the air that made his two friends so worried too, because even while he shrugged his shoulders he could almost swear that those voices…they sounded familiar. Like an uncomfortable itch in the back of his mind, not unlike how it felt when someone drew nails over a chalkboard or like someone walking over his grave. He should have known those voices and something about them scared him to hell even though he couldn't put a name to any of them.

Then the light of a torch flickered out of the entrance, the steps stopped shortly, and the first one of the arrivals stepped into the room, a wide grin on his face. “Knock knock! Anybody home?” 

Tristan’s heart stopped.

No…no. No. That couldn't be. The speaker took a few steps into the room, turning around to look it over. He was lanky, a bit hunched into himself, shoulders drawn high. Normally such body language would look shy but a cruel glint in his eyes covered by a pair of round glasses and a smile spliced with malicious confidence conveyed anything but shyness. Strains of brown hair were visible under a red woollen hat, too warm for this climate but he had always worn it even back then… 

No. That was…that had to be a nightmare. Sun stroke or dehydration. 

A second person entered the room, stopping in the middle as if he had no idea where to go now. He was as tall and muscular as his companion was lanky, with short, fair hair around a face that looked almost too angular, as if someone had crudely cut it out of stone, with eyes just a touch to small. Another blast from the past, or, as Tristan still clung desperately to any hope of disappearing as fast as water in the desert told himself, another figment of imagination born from heat. It had to be. It couldn't be anyone else, because if those two clowns there were real then…then…

One last man entered the room, and just like that Tristan’s hopes dashed to the floor together with his stomach and whatever was left of his nerves. His throat was suddenly drier than desert air, and he could feel how his hand tightened into the small carvings in the column next to him, as if he could cling to them, use them to steady his shaking body. Wide eyed and with a fear undiminished by the years, Tristan looked straight at the nightmarish past that had haunted his and Joey's lives stepping into his present. 

The flickering of the torches cast an interplay of shadows and light over the man’s face as he glanced through the room, illuminating and hiding short hair dyed blond; a set of cruel, small dark eyes; and those three damned rings he had always been so proud of. It was like no time at all had passed, as if the years between then and now had never happened, never existed. He was exactly the same, and seeing him alone was enough to freeze Tristan on the spot and make his brain shut down in complete panic. 

He had just one thought: He couldn't find Joey.

The blond man turned around, smirking scornfully at the ruins surrounding him. His eyes lingered for a moment on the dark corner near the altar where the hidden entrance Yugi had discovered now lay open, before he looked back at his two companions. “You two check around this room, on the off chance that it's here. I'll”—his smirk deepend and whatever was left of Tristan’s stomach turned into an icy knot—“sort out the group downstairs. See if somebody still remembers an old friend.” 

With those words he strolled across the room, and Tristan could only watch, frozen in fear and helpless panic, as Hirutani disappeared down the same hidden corridor Joey and Yugi had just walked down two hours ago. Fuck.

After the crypt, Joey had insisted that he would walk ahead, probably in some attempt to regain control of his fear. If he could face it head on, he could handle it, or something like that. Yugi hadn't cared either way, because with every step he took that dream-like feeling of deja vu had grown stronger and stronger, almost like something was dragging him along this way and getting impatient with his slow progress. It was getting a bit annoying, to be honest, as fascinating at the whole experience was.

They had followed a couple more tunnels, when ahead of Yugi, Joey turned around another corner, and stepped through a slightly slanted doorway, carefully treading along, as if he expected something to jump out of the walls. Yugi followed him, not quite as carefully, lifting his own torch higher to get a better look at the walls surrounding them. It was almost impossible to make out something without stopping; the jumping light and the general state of decay formed shadows that danced with every step, as if they couldn't fix themselves onto the walls. 

There were no carvings visible, but sometimes Yugi could see faint tracings of faded colour, too faint and damaged to truly see what they were once supposed to be. Sometime long ago those blank walls must have been painted. But the air and the stone surrounding them were remarkably damp, a property not usually found in Egypt. Maybe there had been a source of water nearby, the tunnel stretching closer to the river, or maybe an underground side arm. It could have shifted its course over the last millenniums and moved closer to the temple—and destroyed the paintings usually preserved by the dry air. Now only wet stone and mould remained.

Yugi cast another lingering look around, wishing he could have seen how everything had looked before millenniums of abandonment and decay had stripped those walls, and stepped through the doorway Joey had passed through moments before. Only to stumble, as a shudder coursed through his body.

He closed his eyes, stopping. The air was warmer; he could feel the heat of more than just his own torch on his skin, and a slight wind fluttered around him, a warm breeze carrying with it the taste of the red land, of sand warmed by the sun, and of endless skies stretching far over the horizon. He opened his eyes, and blinked.

The dark corridor in front of him had changed. Gone were the blank black stones, the dampness covering the walls, the cobwebs. Torches illuminated the corridor every few meters, placed in still-intact stone holders and casting about them a warm light. Under that bronze shine the walls glowed, painted in full luminous scenes, the colours as bright as if they had been painted yesterday. 

Yugi spun around fast, letting his torch flicker through the air, but nothing changed. The picture held. He could still see the band of lotus flowers, intertwined with papyrus reeds, running around the whole corridor, and painted a meter above the ground. Marshy landscapes were painted beneath them, and the nearly two meter high figures above that line. He recognised them as priests, paying devotion to Seth and Horus, the two gods interchanging in every scene, and placed in such a way that, if Seth appeared in a scene on one side of the corridor, Horus would be exactly across from him on the other side, in the exact same scene, and vise versa. 

Columns were placed between the scenes, finely carved and thin, and only decorated with a single band of colour, as if to form a contrast to the lavish scenes on the walls. Even the floor Yugi was walking on was painted. Every step he took carried him ahead of a river filled with fish of all sizes. Out of the corner of his eye he could swear he saw a hippo painted there too, keeping an eye on anyone walking past. 

He could barely think, nearly forgot to breath, could hardly do anything but take in the lush beauty surrounding him. He had to ask himself if he had finally lost his mind completely. It was breathtakingly beautiful, a dream suddenly turning real, completely impossible, and so familiar that it hurt to even look at it. It felt as if he had returned home, to a place he had missed his whole life, without even knowing. His eyes were suddenly burning, his chest heavy with something he couldn't explain and…and for a moment it seemed impossible to take another step, to move even one millimeter. Not when it felt like he had found and lost something at the same time. Damn it, he wasn't really going mad, was he? Because he really felt like he was.

Yugi had stopped ahead of a door at the end of the corridor. It sat straight in the middle of the wall and shimmered under the light of the flames, as if it was covered in gold. On the door was a relief depicting part of a procession, with a figure dressed like a priest being carried in a palanquin. Left and right reliefs surrounded it, chiselled onto two stone slates formed to look like pillars. Again they depicted scenes of worship, just like the walls, only this time Yugi could identify gods other than Horus and Seth. There was Selketh, the scorpion goddess protecting the death, but also occasionally the living; Neith, the old warrior goddess; Bes, the protector against demons; and even a younger form of Horus, Harpocartes, the child. All minor gods, and all protectors against various evils. Over the door and the false pillar, the winged sun disc, framed by the two uraeus snakes was depicted against a backdrop imitating the reeds and the thin wooden bar imitating the old reed hut architecture. The whole ensemble was framed by two walls left and right, showing bigger than life paintings of the godly sisters Isis and Nephthys. It was beautiful, and whatever was hidden behind this golden door was definitely important, if it required that much godly protection.

He was still looking at the door, making out new details the longer he looked, trying to catch everything, when the door swung open in his direction, and someone stepped out behind it. Yugi instinctively took a step back, even though the person opening the door was still busy moving it, and hadn't even glanced in his direction. He was almost sure he was either dreaming, losing his mind, or having a very strange vision, and neither of those possibilities would include people being able to see him. However, he still didn't want to risk that. How should he know how that whole thing would work; it was his first trip down such a vivid rabbit hole. Better to not take any chances. But then he caught a glance at the room beyond the opening door, and any thought about being careful disappeared as he bent forward to catch a better look.

The room was just as beautiful as the corridor and the door, if not more so. Rows of thick papyriform columns lined it, painted with hieroglyphs. He was sure he saw at least one drawing of Isis, running up to a wall and showing three figures, again bigger than life—one pharaoh; a female figure who might either be a priestess, a queen, or princess; and a third one, whose horned feather crown with the sun disc clearly marked him as Amun. In front of the wall an altar was placed, bearing a thin golden statue of a man with a sun disc over his head. In front of him a small chest was placed, and left and right of the altar stood two guards, bearing copesh swords ready to strike at any moment.

That was all Yugi could see before the priest in front of him moved to close the door. He still had his back to Yugi, having not once turned in his direction, and yet Yugi's heart suddenly beat faster, the fear of discovery for a moment overpowering even his curiosity over the chest. One second ago he would have done everything to get a look at it, and now his brain was catching up to what exactly was really important in this weird dream.

The door clanged shut, and Yugi watched mouth dry as the priest turned something on a round bronze elevation on the right side of the door—an elevation which looked frightfully familiar, as did the star shaped form he was twisting, but that couldn't be. The key to the Book of the Dead and the Book of Amun-Ra lay heavy in Yugi's pocket, a talisman and reminder he had taken to carrying everywhere, much to Joey's displeasure. But there was no reason Yugi would see it here on this door. It was made for the books after all, not for any doors, and with them lost for good, the talisman was nothing but a pretty reminder. At worst this was just proof that this whole dream was really caused by Yugi's overactive imagination. Including the key to the books was exactly something his mind would have done.

The lock clicked shut and the priest retrieved the key, casting one last glance behind as if to make sure that the door was properly shut, before he turned around. Yugi's breath hitched as the priest walked towards him, stumbling back even though nothing in the priests bearing suggested that he was seeing him. His heart beat painfully fast, the blood rushing through his veins and drumming in his ears so loudly he could hardly hear anything. All the while Yugi stood there frozen and staring at the approaching figure in shock. 

Because the face of the priest walking towards him, looking straight at him without seeing him, was his own.

At that moment, when Yugi was sure his heart would stop any moment now, Joey stepped into the scene, walking straight through the priest wearing Yugi's face, not even stopping, as if he wasn't seeing anything. His torch left a burning trail behind him, and the whole scene began to shiver, running into each other before it disappeared, dispersing into the air like morning mist over the Nile. Yugi was back in the corridor as it had been before, old and damp, full of naked stone walls, all traces of wonder and splendour gone as if they had never been there. A shiver shot through his body, and it had nothing to do with the cold in the air.

He stood still for a second, frozen, hardly daring to breathe, as if the smallest movement was enough to send him straight back into this strange dream. One blink with his eyes, then another one, and as reality remained stubbornly and reassuringly the same, Yugi let out a shaky breath. And then movement returned to him.

He threw his head around, as if he could catch some traces of his dream if he just looked fast enough, and then turned around himself, casting his torch left and right as fast as he could, not sure if he was chasing the illusion that had just surrounded him, or if he was trying to drive it off. A bit of both, possibly, if he had taken the time to think about it now. Because of all its beauty the whole dream had unsettled him more than anything else he had ever seen. And that included his first time meeting Zorc wearing Atem's mummified remains.

That door would be a challenge. Joey looked up at it with a sigh. It was almost twice his high as him, and set so perfectly against the stones surrounding it, he could hardly see were one began and the other ended. He doubted that there would be enough space for a crowbar if they had to use it, and while Yugi would not be particularly overjoyed about that, he could see no other way of opening it. 

He turned back to Yugi, to ask his friend if he had any idea on how to proceed, or maybe if they actually had hit a dead end and would be tragically forced to return, even if Joey knew that he wouldn't be that lucky. Yugi was too stubborn for that. But instead of that he saw Yugi turning left and right, swinging his torch around so fast that it left a trail of golden sparks in the cold air, looking as if he was trying to chase off a swarm of irritating mucks. 

Joey blinked at the scene for a moment, wondering if Yugi's dreams had finally caught up with him, before he shook his head and nodded in Yugi's direction. “You know, you can almost write your name, if you move that fast enough.” His voice sounded light, as if he didn't have a care in the world, and it took every ounce of control Joey had to keep it that way. Yugi was ok. Whatever he was doing there was an explanation for that. He was not mad; Joey refused to believe that and he would keep going on as if everything was normal till it  _ was _ normal again, damn it.

As if to prove his determination right Yugi's head snapped around towards him, and his friend blinked up at Joey, as if he had forgotten he was here. Not a very calming sign, but at least Yugi was back. 

“I didn't try to write my name.” Yugi sounded indignant, and again a bit of familiarity returned. Just a bit, because in the next moment Yugi's eyes clouded over. “I…” He hesitated, and that let the coils of dread in Joey's stomach tighten.

He couldn't tell Joey what happened. That was the first thought Yugi had when he looked at his friend, and he discarded it almost immediately. Yes, Joey would flip. Any hint of a vision would basically confirm his worst fear, and Yugi just couldn't drag Joey through this, no matter how safe he had felt in it. Joey wouldn't care about that, rightfully so, and a part of Yugi was sure that he just couldn't do that to him. He was afraid enough already.

But he also couldn't lie to him, and that part proved stronger. No matter what, Joey had a right to know what happened, and he could handle it, of that Yugi was sure. So he took a deep breath, and began again. 

“I had another vision. Like my dream, but it felt more real. Like I was really here, back then, in ancient times.” And he had looked at himself walking down this very corridor. Dream or vision…whatever it was, it was drawing Yugi's curiosity more and more. He wanted to know why he had this vision—why had these dreams suddenly started? They hadn't shown up when Zorc had nearly destroyed the world two years ago, and he wanted to know what could trigger such visions nows, if even back then hadn't been enough.

Yeah, Joey really hadn't wanted to hear that. He didn't want to hear about any visions, didn't want to think about what they could possibly mean, didn’t want to think about why they were happening. He just wanted to turn right back, walk down this triple-cursed tunnel, out of this temple, and never return. Somebody else could deal with the magical shit this time. They had saved the world once, that should have been enough to be left in peace by any other weird stuff forever, shouldn't it? But one look at Yugi was enough to make clear that this option wasn't on the table.

There was a determined spark in his eyes, in the way he held himself, upright and certain. Yugi wasn't going to leave until he had answers, and Joey wasn't the type of friend to leave him alone. Even if he knew that he would regret it later. So he just sighed. 

“Ok, fine. If you've been here before, then maybe you have some idea about how to open this door.” He raised his hand and gestured backwards to the door with his thumb. “Damned thing is refusing to cooperate.”

Yugi looked at his friend. Joey was serious. As uncomfortable as he had to be, he was clearly set to see this through. For a moment Yugi's throat constricted, and he smiled at his friend. Thank you. Joey wouldn't want to hear the words, would deny ever doing something which required gratitude, but the intent was there either way. And the best way Yugi could deal with that was moving forward, and making this whole ordeal as short as possible.

“Yugi? Are you there?” Joeys fingers snapping in front of his face tore Yugi from his thoughts. He blinked, and shot Joey an apologetic smile, which his friend answered with a raised eyebrow. “Is asked if you have some idea on how to open the door. If you still want to enter, that is. I won´t be disappointed if we leave.”

Yugi glanced back at the door. This was it: the final room; the most hidden, most sacred part of the whole complex. A part of him was curious what remained unchanged behind it, if the paintings there had fared better than those in the tunnel, if the altar or the statue was untouched. If the chest was still there. And there was only one way to find out. 

He nodded at Joey. “I do.”

He stepped past his friend, eyes set on the door, and even though he couldn't see Joey, he still heard the sharp intake of his breath, as Yugi's hand slipped into his pocket and withdrew the key to Hamunaptra. 

“Oh no. Not this thing again.” Joey's voice was barely above a whisper, and Yugi grimaced as he raised his hand to put the key into place. Yugi's excitement made the grimace much closer to a smile than an expression of pain and annoyance. It was a mystery, a new puzzle; something he had still to figure out. Why would the key would fit here, and what would connect this temple to the city of the dead and the two books? he couldn't help but savour the feeling, like he was standing on the threshold of something important, something fun. Another adventure. 

“I'm sorry.” He meant the words as much as he could, even though he couldn't quite keep the smile out of his voice. The lock was barely indistinguishable from the door at this point, the stone surrounding it being the same colour as the round elevation forming it, now that time had stripped the door of its golden covering. Cobwebs covered the denture where the serrated star formed by the key belonged. Yet it glided in without the slightest resistance, as if it had just waited for this moment.

“But I think…” He hadn't seen how many times the priest had turned the key, had stood too far away to see such details, and yet his hand turned it without him having to spare a thought. He listened for the click signalling the key locking in, then drew it a bit towards himself, so that the elevation rose to meet him. Then he turned the key two times right, and one time left with surefast movements, before he pressed it back into the door. “It's exactly this thing again.” The door swung open towards them soundlessly.

Yugi and Joey looked at it, Yugi still grinning triumphantly, Joey with a look of wordless despair. Joey was the one who broke the silence first. “You know, the last thing this key opened should have definitely stayed shut.” 

Yugi shook his head, still grinning a bit. “That was one time.” He ignored Joey mouthing “two” and took a step towards the door. “And a key is made to open things, that's its whole purpose.” Behind him, he could hear Joey grumbling as he followed him into the dark. 

“But this key has never opened something good!”

The man with the glasses war rooting through the small heap of finds they had amassed over the past couple of days. If Jaden glanced over the edge of the scaffold, just enough that he could see what was going on underneath him, he could watch him and hear his mutters. “What the hell is that supposed to be? Look at all this rubbish.” 

Jaden bristled at his words, unable to keep himself from flinching when the other man threw a handful of ostracon shards over his shoulders. They might look like rubbish, true, being basically nothing more than shards of long-broken things, but they still told their stories. You just shouldn't treat them like that. His hand tightened around the shard in his pocket and for a moment he almost thought he felt some kind of warmth radiate from it.

A low snicker filled the room, as the second man threw a few more ostraca behind him. “The Egyptians never had a clue. Nothing of worth left, only chintz and stuff.” Jaden’s hand tightened once more, and before he knew what he was doing, his old habits caught up with him again. He acted without thinking.

The whole temple was strewn with stones, pebbles lying around everywhere, remains of decay scattered. It was impossible to avoid them. He grabbed one of them lying near him on the scaffold, and had thrown it in the same moment as the second man was starting to lift a nearly complete vase from the floor. The stone hit him square on his backside.

Tristan could only watch in horror his hiding place as the man nearly jumped out of his skin. Jaden at least had enough sense remaining to duck back into hiding, Tristan wasn't able to see more than a shadow on the scaffold before all was still again, but other than that the boy must have lost his whole damned mind. The point of hiding was to stay hidden, not to attract attention by attacking someone at least thrice Jaden’s size! That should have been obvious, but clearly for Jaden the world worked differently.

The second man nearly jumped out of his skin when the stone hit. “What the hell?!” He turned around sharply, looking left and right as if he could conjure his attacker out of thin air like a ghost if he just looked hard enough. Tristan, flatly pressed against the column, hardly dared to breathe. He was sure they would be found at any moment, his heartbeat so loud in his own ears that the entire temple—even Joey and Yugi down that damned corridor must—have been able to hear it, and yet the only thing that followed the surprised scream was the voice of Hirutani’s first lackey. 

“What's the matter? Did this ancient rubbish bite you?” A low drawl, more mockery than question and his companion answered in kind. 

“Shut your fucking mouth. Something hit me.” 

Low laughter filled the air. “Really? And what do you think that was, a ghost? They say this place is cursed after all. Maybe it has come to get you.”

The voices drowned on, arguing further, but Tristan couldn't pay attention any longer. The short-timed relief which filled him was too strong. They hadn't noticed them yet. Two of Hirutani’s most trusted lackeys, and Jaden obviously trying to get them all caught and they still hadn't found them. Maybe he had some luck left. Not much obviously, given that they were here, and Hirutani was down in the tunnel, walking towards Joey and Yugi, which was the worst thing that could have happened, but …

But the first shock had passed, the nightmare of his and Joey past had manifested again, and Tristan was still standing. Tristan was still alive, and now slowly able to think again. He cast another fast and careful glance around the column, feeling Ryou’s confused gaze on him. From his friend’s perspective, Tristan behaved like a madman, and he wished he had the time to explain, but that had to wait until later when there was less danger. Now they just had to survive.

His eyes narrowed in thought as he watched Hirutani’s underlings. He remembered them well enough, had been unable to forget even a single one of their faces, even though he had at least succeeded in erasing their names from his memory. He would have gladly forgotten everything to do with Hirutani and those days, but that would have been both madness and impossible. You couldn't forget Hirutani, and to do so was just giving him an opening to end you.

And now whatever Tristan still remembered could possibly help him keep his friends alive. Like the fact that, for all their jokes and great words, Hirutani and his cronies were deeply superstitious. It was a trait shared by a lot of street gangs in Cairo, by a lot of people in this land. Tristan now knew, entirely justified, if they thought that this temple was haunted they could make use of that, if only to distract them enough that his friends could get away and Trisan himself could follow Hirutani down the tunnel. He was not going to let Joey face him alone. The first trace of an idea began to form in his head. 

Down in the tunnel, Hirutani stepped over the fallen stone door. The flickering light of his torch illuminated the corpses resting in the walls of the room ahead, and the shadows dancing over them made them almost look alive. A smile spread over his lips. Poor Joey…his old friend wouldn't have enjoyed this room very much. Perhaps he should take him back to this room when he had gotten when came for… It would be a fitting setting for their reunion. It had been so long after all.

That smile stayed on his face as he walked straight through the room not caring if he stepped on any scorpions or spiders, crushing them if he did, and carelessly shaking them off as if they were mad enough to crawl on his shoes. It had been a nice surprise, to find that Joey was so close to the bracelet he sought now. His treacherous dog… oh no, Hirutani had not forgotten just how Joey had slipped through his fingers, how he had dared to turn his back on them, and pretended he didn’t knew exactly where his place was… Well, Hirutani had enough self-control to see a job done first and foremost but if work and pleasure overlapped so closely, he could afford a little distraction. For old times’ sake.

The room was nothing like Yugi had seen in his vision. All that splendour had been stripped away by time, almost worse than the corridor. Nothing left but cobwebs and decay. Still, some things remained. Under Joey's nervous glances, he gently drew his hand over the altar. It and the chest it had carried remained, just like the figure sitting on it. Yugi could feel excitement shooting through him as he freed the golden disk the statue carried and got his first look at the hieroglyphs and the emblem carved into them. Oh, he had known that this part of the temple was old, that there was something important about it, some kind of mystery. But this was even better than he could have hoped.

“That…that is the emblem of the Scorpion King.” He could hear the awe in his own voice as his hand traced the gigantic scorpion carrying a sun disk and surrounded by soldiers carved onto the disk. “He's supposed to be pure myth. No trace of him has ever been found before, no artefacts, no archival evidence…well, there are some who believe that a grave in Abydos belongs to him, given that depictions of a scorpion were found there…” He trailed off, hardly hearing Joey's voice interrupting him. 

“Ok, stop right there. No trace left sounds pretty damn familiar, and there was a reason for that last time, remember? Maybe they didn't want anyone to be able to find him.” 

Yugi nodded, still only hearing half of what Joey said. “Let's open this.”

“No!” Joey's horror-stricken scream echoed around the room and the corridor they came through, as he grabbed Yugi's shoulder and turned him, so that Yugi was looking at him. “Yugi, you are not opening this chest, understood. That is the worst idea you ever had, you can't keep going around opening Egyptian artefacts without knowing what they do!” 

Yugi looked at him for a moment, blinking, before his laughter filled the air. “Joey.” He shook his head, as he gently laid a hand on his friend's arm, and lowered it down, so he could free himself. “It's only a chest. No harm ever came from opening a chest.” 

At the threshold of the door behind them, a shadows stilled. Neither of them noticed it, had had any cause to register how silently Hirutani had drawn closer to them; and now he watched the scene before him unfolding. Joey and the other one, standing close to him, smiling up at him, even as he turned away. A haze of red settled over his vision. Oh…so that was the game played here. The hand laying on his gun tightened. His treacherous dog had much more to pay for than he had thought.

Joey just looked at Yugi while his friend turned back to the chest on the altar. “Oh yeah, right. And no harm ever came from reading a book either, remember? We both know how that one went.” Yugi shot him an offended look, hands still busy with the chest. 

“That was once! And we are so close, we can't stop now.” There was such glee to his voice, the same excitement he always displayed when faced with the one piece of a puzzle that had eluded him for ages. Joey knew at this moment that it was hopeless. Nothing would keep Yugi from opening this chest now. Joey could maybe try dragging him back to the surface, but Yugi would just be back at the first chance. 

He sighed. “Ok, but just remember that I was the voice of reason here. Again. When this goes wrong I'm going to start with the I-told-you-so's right away.” Yugi just nodded distractedly.

In the main hall, Jaden slightly lifted himself off the platform he lied on, to line up his second stone throw. He was down immediately, pressing his back to the wood beneath him, but he could still hear the stone finding its mark and the scream of his victim, pain now mixed with something like anger. The man would have no idea where the attack was coming from, and the thought of his angry and startled face was enough to make Jaden giggle. He stifled the sound almost immediately, hoping that nobody had heard it. It had been so soft, surely it was unremarkable, right? 

From his place behind the column, Tristan could see how the first one of Hirutani’s lackeys raised his head, eyes narrowed and nose lifted high, like bloodhound sniffing out a trace, and bit back a curse. Damn it, Jaden had been noticed. He needed to do something now, or the boy would be dead.

Joey was glancing around the room nervously, while Yugi was still busy with the chest. Damn it, that whole thing was making him jumpy, getting his mind to play tricks on him. For a moment he had almost thought he had seen something moving by the door. There were two corpses underneath all the cobwebs here, standing left and right of the altar, and thus left and right of him and Yugi didn't help either. Somebody had died in this room before, and he just wanted out.

“Oh…that's strange.” Yugi's still sounded pretty happy, but strange was the last word Joey wanted to here now. He turned back to his friend, already tensing, preparing himself to run away from something, quite possibly one of those two corpses animated again any moment now. 

“Do I really want to know?” He could hear the weariness in his own voice, and Yugi shot him a short, apologetic glance. Good, at least he was feeling a little bit guilty.

“Probably not.” Yugi smiled, while he shook his head. “I mean, it's nothing bad just...” His hand glided over the front of the chest again. “I think the key fits here too. And I don't understand why it would work here at all. The door was strange enough, but this… I thought it was made for the books and…” And the coffin, locking in Atem in his eternal imprisonment with Zorc, watching over the Dark One. Even after two years the thought still shot a burst of pain through him, and he shook his head, trying to get the picture out of his head.

Atem had been smiling when he had last seen him; had plunged that dagger inside himself to take down Zorc with no hesitation; had taken the continuation of his imprisonment willingly, but… But that still didn't make it better. Even if it had been the only way. Yugi fought back the sting in his eyes, and drew the key again, trying to draw his focus back on the chest. He couldn't change anything that had happened. Atem had made his choice—the right choice—and Hamunaptra had buried him and Zorc forever. Yugi had to focus on the now, and the rest of his life—which now included a mysterious chest tied to the key of the books, no matter how much Joey was grumbling in the background. 

From the shadows of the door, Hirutani lifted his gun and took aim, directly at the head of the other man next to Joey. Any moment now, when the box would open…

Almost reverently Yugi lifted the lid, and the first look made him draw his breath sharply. Oh god. This was…he had expected much but this… Yes, this was almost surely the thing he could think of, which was in a league with Hamunaptra when it came to legendary and definitely deadly cursed things. 

It was fantastic!

The inside of the chest had been untouched by the decay the rest of the building had suffered, and different from its outside, the interior was deceptively bare, filled with an undergrowth of tightly woven reeds, on which an elaborate bracelet rested. It was nearly as big as half of Yugi's arm, and looked too heavy to wear. Made from pure gold, it was half-round, looking like placing the hand inside to wear it would mean placing it into a mouth, with the flat side looking up and carrying the figure of a scorpion, as high as the palm of Yugi's hand. Its claws encircled the bracelet, apart from the two big pincers lying in front of the scorpion’s face which took the irregular form of a jackal head instead of the expected head of a normal scorpion. But then, given whose sign was present at the altar, maybe Yugi should have expected exactly this face. The tail curving over the scorpion bore not one venomous stinger, but two, yet this seemed hardly noticeable after everything else that lie in the chest.

A smile glided over Yugi's face as he looked down at the treasure. “The bracelet of Anubis.” He could barely breathe as he raised his hands to touch it. It was real!

Jaden was slowly lifting himself up, hand raised, to throw a third stone. It didn't really do much in terms of stopping the strangers, he had to admit that. At best he was only annoying them. But that was something he was good at, according to almost everyone he had ever met. And at least it felt like he was doing something, not just standing by and watching while they were searching for god-knew-what. 

The stone flew, and at the same moment as he felt something warm brush his hand, and a warning chirp in his ear. But it was already too late. As he jumped back, blinking up at the shape which had suddenly materialised next to him, fluttering around his head with clear signs of distress, the first man, standing next to Jaden’s target, shot out his hand, and caught the stone mid-air. He slowly turned around to glare up at Jaden, who scrambled back hastily, trying to find some sort of cover in the darkness of the room, even as he knew that it was way too late. 

“Oops.”

The thing which had suddenly appeared next to him—a shimmering round ball of brown hair, with two big eyes, and a pair of tiny wings—chirped again, and fluttered over to the ladder leading to the next level of the scaffold. It looked almost like the drawing on the ostracon, so much that Jaden was almost sure he had started to hallucinate. His mind had conjured up the very picture he had been staring at for so long. He could see the scaffold and the walls through the little fluff ball’s body, like watching through very thin, painted glass. Yep, definitely a hallucination. But if it was one, it was the best and cutest one Jaden had ever had, and he and the creature were in absolute agreement anyway. The only way was up, especially since the first man was already walking over to their scaffold, anger burning in his smile. 

“Just you wait kid, I'll take care of you.” 

Yeah, it was time to get away from here.

The other boy was lifting the bracelet now, looking at it as if he had just found a piece of his dreams. Joey was glaring at it, far more wearily than Hirutani would have expected, given that this thing was made out of pure gold. Had his dog lost all need for money now? 

“I don't want to know what the bracelet of Anubis is, right?” His dog’s tone was as weary as his look, and when the other man turned around to smile at him, bright as the sun, Hirutani lifted his gun again, aiming directly at his head. Time to end this touching scene. His fingers squeezed the trigger, just as the whole corridor began to shake.

Yugi nearly lost his balance, righting himself just at the last moment before he hit the floor. Sand rained down around them, mixed with stones; the walls didn't stop grumbling and shaking and the floor beneath their feet moved like the sea in a storm. He shoved everything he had just wanted to tell Joey—namely that yes, he probably wouldn't like this bracelet much—aside, and turned around to shove it back into its chest, throwing the lid shut. Sadly, if removing the bracelet truly had triggered this sudden collapse around them, as he suspected, placing it back did nothing to stop it.

Behind him, he heard Joey scream. “A bit late for that, isn't it? I told you, you should have left this thing alone!” 

Yugi just shook his head, and grabbed the chest. Time to go, they could discuss this later. “Here, take this.” He thrust the chest at Joey, who looked at him like he had just asked him to shake hands with a mummy. 

“I've got a better idea, why don't we leave it here!”

Behind them, Hirutani hesitated for a moment, before he too turned around and ran. He couldn't get a good shot in with all this chaos around them, and getting the box would take too much time. He would need to get out himself. His dog would carry the chest out, as obedient as ever, despite his protests. Hirutani could always get it from him later. And if Joey and his little friend shouldn't make it out, then they could always dig up the bracelet again. Maybe there were even a few workers left from Hamunaptra so that they wouldn't have to hire new ones.

Again, Joey was sure he saw a shadow move by the door, right there in the corner of his eye, but given that this whole damned place was moving, it didn't really require his attention. There were more pressing matters. 

He shoved the chest back at Yugi. “What's it say?” Those cursed things were all the same; they all had some sort of warning or instruction manual written on them. They were poetic and confusing as hell, but obviously the Egyptians thought a death trap was incomplete without telling the trapped exactly how they would die. Truly nice and polite people, even though easily offended and completely bloodthirsty. It was a wonder Yugi hadn’t paid attention to that before; normally you had to drag him away from any kind of hieroglyphic writings within a mile.

Yugi glanced down at the box, his eyes flying over the hieroglyphs. He probably should have taken a closer look at them before, but in his defence, he had been a bit distracted by confusing visions. Those would make anyone slovenly. “He who disturbs this bracelet…shall..” He lost his line and had to find it again, the hieroglyphs shaking so badly they were dancing in front of his eyes, making it hard to see if one was an eagle or an owl. “…drink from…” Oh right, that was a water line…how the hell had it looked like a bird? “…the waters of the Nile!” His head shot up, and he smiled at Joey. “That doesn't sound too bad!”

Joey nearly had asked him, if he had gotten a look at the Nile recently, or if he was that eager for a repeat of their midnight swim after that catastrophic boat trip, but he decided to save his breath. They both turned around and ran, Joey somehow finding himself carrying that cursed chest, but just as he was about to chuck it aside, and damn what Yugi would say, they came face to face with a gigantic wall of water rushing their way.

It filled the whole corridor, driving forward with a force that broke stone walls as if they were made of sugar, tearing down everything in its path. With a curse Joey turned aside, down another part of this tunnel system, Yugi beside him, trying to run as fast as he could, and that damned chest still in his hands. How the hell did they always end up in such situations? How?!

Hirutani's first lackey had almost reached the ladder leading up to the scaffold, were Jaden was scrambling upward as if that could save him, dagger drawn and an expectant grin on his lips, when another stone, from a different direction hit him in the shoulder. Startled, he flew around, almost spitting with anger, only for his eyes to settle on Tristan, standing next to a column, for all intents and purposes almost relaxed, throwing and catching the next stone in his right hand and a wide smile on his face. 

“You guys didn't change at all. Still picking on those weaker than you.”

Tristan was anything but relaxed. His whole body felt tight like a bow string, and it took everything he had to keep his posture easy and relaxed; to not let his eyes dart nervously around the room, to the corridor where Hirutani had disappeared. He could take the two of them, he was pretty sure about that, even entangled with all the memories they brought with them. But sooner or later Hirutani would reappear, which would mean that for Joey and Yugi and everything would be too late and…and he needed to stop thinking right now. One crisis at a time. First he had to get the two idiots away from Jaden, and him and Ryou out of here. Then he could run after Hirutani. And he had to be fast because every second passing brought this madman closer to his friends.

The first one, Glasses, smiled, even though it looked more like he was baring his teeth at him. He didn't look surprised to see him, and something inside Tristan's stomach iced over when he realised that. 

“Tristan. So you are truly here. I was wondering if the info got this correct.” He knew…he knew that they had been here. That Tristan had been here. And that meant that Hirutani…Hirutani knew…

The second lackey also turned on him now, Jaden all but forgotten. At least that was still going to plan, even though the nightmare of this situation just turned worse and worse. 

“Aren't you happy to see us? We've got so much to discuss. So many debts to settle.” He laughed. “This is going to be fun. Two against one, since the boss will take his time downstairs with your friend.” Tristan's hand clenched, both in anger and fear, and cold sweat broke out on his face. Stay calm, stay calm. This is exactly what they want. Just keep focused on the now don't think…don't think… He shook his head, still smiling calmly, even though it felt like his lips would tear from the strain any moment now. 

“Happy? You two barely pass as a distraction, much less as some entertainment. Hasn’t Hirutani had anyone better to send than you two?” 

Glasses' face twisted into an angry scowl and Tristan was sure he would lunge at him right now, almost relieved; glad to finally have something to hit, to get his worry and anger out to feel like he was doing something. 

From the other side of the room another voice sounded out. “And it's two against two. Three, if you want to be really pedantic.” Ryou leaned against another column, all the way over there, frowning as if he was thinking about something. “But then you would have been outmatched with zero against two, wouldn't you?” He wore such a sweet smile as he spoke, that it took a moment for his words to sink in with Hirutani's lackeys. Then they looked at him with pure fury and a promise of vengeance.

Which was great because it kept them from noticing that Tristan was busy picking his jaw up from the floor. How…why…couldn't anyone here make logical and safe choices?! No one?! Ryou was supposed to leave, to sneak off as unnoticeable as he could. Not try to goad them too! And how the hell had he even gotten over there? He had been behind the same column Tristan turned his back to right now, there were at least thirty meters between here and there. That shouldn’t be possible.

Glasses turned back to him, at which Tristan snapped back into his bored arrogance façade, while nervously following second guy with his eyes, as he took a step towards Ryou. “Boy, you really have no idea what you are dealing with.” 

Ryou face was still a perfect picture of innocence. “What, you? You think I should be afraid of you?” He shook his head, still wearing that sweet smile. “I see nothing which would make me afraid.” And that, in Tristan's humble opinion, was enough of a sign that he was perfectly insane. Not that this was in any way unusual for his group of friends, but still… He had held out some weak hope that at least someone might have traces of working self-protection instincts. Oh well. 

With a sigh Tristan turned his attention back to the problem nearest to him. Enough time wasted. Time to save the rest of these madmen and then finally go after Joey. But no matter how much he itched for a fight, he couldn’t get the chance.

He took a step towards Glasses, just as Hirutani suddenly burst out of the corridor and stopped. Tristan froze midstep, as Hirutani's eyes flittered over him and he could see recognition sparkle in their dark depths. For a second it seemed as if Hirutani could see his every fear—and the monster of a man treasured it. He smiled in Tristan's direction, before his head jerked towards his lackeys. 

“We are leaving. This meeting has been postponed.” With that he walked right through the room, uncaring about what was happening around him, and disappeared into the tunnel. Number Two hesitated only a moment before he followed him. Glasses kicked at the scaffold Jaden was just slowly climbing down now, and ran after his boss and colleague.

He hit just one beam, not even a big one, placed slantwise near the ground, yet it was enough. The whole scaffold shook like a ship in a storm, and Jaden grasped desperately at anything to hold onto, as the shaky construction swung left and right. “

Jaden!” Tristan was already running across the room to him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ryou doing the same, but it was clear that they would both be too late. For a moment he was forgetting everything, forgetting to worry about why Hirutani was already leaving what could have possible happened downstairs, and where the hell Joey and Yugi were. Were still all right? For a moment nothing mattered but Jaden’s sure fall from at least five metres high with nothing to catch him. 

The water was directly behind them, breaking over itself, tearing everything down and coming closer and closer. Nothing in the narrow tunnel Yugi and Joey were running through offered the slightest chance for escape, the small space making the powerful water even more focused on breaking through what was directly ahead of it: Them. 

Jaden was thrown across the scaffold like a ragdoll. The small fluff ball swirling around his face chirped nervously, but as unreal as it was it didn't seem to be able to offer any help. The only thing Jaden could do, as the scaffold finally toppled over sideways, was scream.

“Fuck!” The corridor ahead of them came to a sudden stop, ending in a wall with no other doors, no broken-down stones, nothing they could escape through. Jaden had just enough time for this short summation of the situation before the waves hit him, the water dragging him under and hitting him with force of thousands of years of containment. 

Tristan could only watch open mouthed as Jaden was flung from the scaffold. The moment the waves hit the scaffold, it finally broke sideways and hit one of the columns next to it. Thanks to the column getting dragged down too, Jaden could cling to it, and keep himself from breaking anything, but his column toppled over into the next and this one into the next. They fell like dominoes, like a comic catastrophe in a Charlie Chaplin movie, one after the other all around the room in a perfect circle like a clockwork.

Tristan and Ryou just stood there, blinking at each other, not quite sure if what they saw was really happening or if the whole building would come down on them now too, with the columns gone. That is, until Jaden, bedraggled-looking, covered in the century-old stone dust, and his hair standing up in all directions, slowly caught up to them. The boy turned around and blinked. 

“Wow.” As good a summary of that situation as any, Tristan supposed.

Surprisingly the water didn't cover the whole tunnel, so both Yugi and Joey could still breathe, but its forceful currents and the twisting waves throwing them around made it hard to keep swimming. Yugi could barely keep himself upright, was barely able to raise his head out of the water. Over his head he got a glimpse of some iron bars, worn with age and covered with rust but still stable enough that he could cling to them and haul himself at least a bit up, out of the water. Next to him he could see Joey doing the same, despite the water still tossing them around. 

For the moment they could catch their breaths, but that wouldn't last. The iron bars didn't look stable enough to bear their weight for much longer without breaking, and even if they would, their own strength would give out sooner or later. And then there was only the water waiting for them.

Joey sputtered out some water caught in his lungs. It felt like he had swallowed the whole Nile. “This is bad!” He knew that he was stating the obvious—screaming it actually, to make his words heard over the thundering of the water—but he didn't care. Her had known that this was a bad idea, had told Yugi so, Yugi hadn’t listened, and where did they end up? Drowning in the middle of the desert! It was almost funny if it didn't actually concern their survival.

Yugi coughed, trying to catch enough of his breath for an answer. “We've had bad before!” Arguably, from his perspective, they had had worse. Drowning didn't beat almost being sacrificed by the incarnation of chaos to bring about the end of the world. 

“This is worse!” Ok, not quite worse. The zombie mob of Cairo probably still beat that, but that was in the past. This was happening now, was probably going to kill them right now, so for Joey it was worse. And it was a ridiculous way to die after everything they had survived. Zorc would probably laugh his head off if he knew. And Joey would be damned if he made that mummified bastard happy in any way.

Tristan, Ryou and Jaden were still carefully stepping around the room, trying to get a good look at the destruction. All in all it could have been worse. The columns had fallen over, but mostly intact; the scaffold was in pieces, but could be rebuilt; and nobody was hurt. From Jaden's perspective that was a clear win. He turned his head to look at the furball still flying next to his head. Since it hadn’t disappeared now, he guessed it would stick around for a while. It chirped happily, when it caught his look. Jaden smiled. “I guess I’ve got to find a name for you.” So he had gotten an invisible friend. Cool!

Ryou sighed. “Well, at least the ceiling is still holding up. That's good.” 

Neither of them paid any attention to Jaden, and with their back turned to him, Jaden was the only one to see the last column fall, leaning a bit unstable against one of the walls of the room and slowly tipping downwards more and more. He opened his mouth, turned his head to tell the others, and then closed it. No time for that! 

He ran over, trying to catch the column, leaning into it with his whole weight, as if he had any chance at stopping it, but he could just as much have tried to copy Atlas and carry the sky on his shoulders. His best efforts were nothing more like a breeze to the columns that continued its downward path. Standing that close to it, Jaden could now see that it was headed straight for the relief he had wanted to show Joey, the pyramid with the Eye of Horus and the snakes. His heart stopped. No! That wasn't supposed to be destroyed. Joey still needed to see that! He tried harder to keep the columns upright, but it left the column as unimpressed as before.

Yugi could take one last gasp of air before the water broke over the iron bars. Any chance they had of breathing disappeared. Pressing his lips together to keep the precious air as long as he could, he dove down and opened his eyes. Everything he could see was shrouded in darkness, but there had to be a way out of here. There had to be. This could not be the end.

Inch by inch the column fell closer and closer to the tattoo relief, and as much as Jaden hated to admit it, it was pretty clear nothing he did would ever be enough to stop it. Next to him the little furball’s chirps sounded more and more worried. “Kuri. Kuriboh! Kuri!”

There was nothing around them but darkness and water throwing them left and right. Joey's breath was burning in his lungs, every second felt like torment and he was seeing black spots dancing in front of his eyes. He stifled a groan as the water threw him against the nearest wall, trying desperately not to waste his last breath, even if that seemed to be as likely to kill him as the water. Oh god, after everything they had survived this was such a fucking stupid way to die. And so predictable! Whatever happened, if they actually ended up in front of old Osiris and his delightful murder-pet he was so going to blame Yugi for that.

Jaden threw one look at the ghostly form next to his head, and nodded. His little friend was right, time to get out of here. He jumped aside, just as the column crashed into the wall, loud enough to finally draw Tristan and Ryou's attention. 

“Jaden!” Tristan was already sprinting across the room, at the same moment as Jaden flew around to face him. 

“That wasn't my fault! I tried to keep it from crashing!” 

Tristan shouldn't get a chance to hear him.

The moment the column crashed against the wall, the whole construct broke down, and a surge of water broke through it. Jaden screamed and turned to run away, while Tristan still ran towards him, and Ryou stopped dead where he was, blinking at the water. “Where did that come from?” 

All in all, Tristan had to admit, it looked like a pretty typical Tuesday for them. The only thing missing was Yugi and Joey crashing in from somewhere, but they would probably, hopefully if Hirutani hadn't gotten them, as a dark voice in his thoughts took time to remind him, surely show up any second now.

As if to prove him right, he could hear some very familiar sounding screams through the torrent of water, and seconds later, two figures got flushed out of the hole Jaden had broken into the wall. With the water slowly draining into ground, Yugi and Joey came to lay, breathless, wet as two drowned kittens, but still alive, directly in front of Tristan's and Jaden's feet. Joey was holding onto a wooden chest as if his life depended on it, and when Yugi looked up a bright smile was shining from his face. 

“Hey, you got the bracelet. Good thinking!”

Joey looked as if he wanted to throw the whole chest right at him in this moment. Tristan grinned, too relieved to see that they both were still alive, and clearly hadn't encountered Hirutani, to care much about how they got there like this. “Looks like you guys had your fun.” 

Joey’s murderous look turned to him now, a bit weaker thank sual thanks to the whole drowned puppy look he was currently sporting, and so it took them a moment to notice Jaden shifting nervously from one feet to the other.

“I can explain everything. Really.”

He was looking so guilty, as if he personally destroyed the temple, that Trsitan couldn't help but smile at him, and Yugi shook his head. 

“You know, maybe you can wait a bit with that. Give us a chance to breathe a bit for a while.” He smiled. “Let's get home.”


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

_ London _

It seemed fitting that the evening they finally arrived home again, they were accompanied by a storm. Admittedly, heavy weather wasn't that unusual for London, but Joey had always been sure that this city was doing it on purpose, just to remind him about what he liked about Egypt when he finally made it out of there alive again. This exact timing had to be personal.

Though, other than that, he didn't have much reason to complain. Life had been good for the past two years, and as loath as he was to admit it, Hamunaptra was one of the reasons for it. Namely, the riches he had been able to lift from the treasure there. It hadn't been much, barely a few trinkets compared to the limitless fountain of wealth waiting underneath the sand where it wasn't of any use to anyone, but those few trinkets had been worth more than a king’s ransom outside of the city of the dead. Worth enough to safe Serenity’s eyesight, worth enough that Yugi's and his grandfather had been able to afford this…well, mansion they had settled in, worth enough that Joey was almost sure neither he nor his friends would ever have to worry about money again.

It seemed ridiculous, impossible, and if he was quite honest with himself, frightening. Life just didn't work that way. It wasn't so easy; fortune didn't turn around like that; and if luck was that much on his side now, he was just expecting a catastrophe of almost Olympic proportions to happen. Any second now something would happen, and all of that would disappear.

At the very least he had expected the gold to be haunted. It came from a cursed city, that it should be cursed seemed logical. But he had been desperate enough to sell it still, for Serenity’s sake, and it hadn't had unleashed any curse on them now. Serenity had laughed when he had joked that he might have bought her eyesight with cursed gold, and asked if that meant her sight had magical qualities now. And Yugi, when Joey finally got the courage to ask—just in passing, out of a mild curiosity, nothing more—if there were any tales about curses lying on Hamunaptra’s gold had denied it. And he had pointed out, that, if there was something necessary to earn this, they definitely had done that.

But still, even now, taking a step out of the car which had just passed a driveway at least a mile long, to take the last steps towards an entrance gate leading to the inside of a two floor mansion looking like it came straight from an old Dracula movie or belonged to the country gent hiding his mad wife in the attic, Joey was pretty sure Yugi's grandfather had fulfilled himself more than one boyhood dream. And that was without even mentioning the interior, and the variable fucking park behind it. But hey, he was living there too, so it was not like he was complaining. It was still tacky.

Seth would probably not be amused to find Hamunaptra’s guarded treasure being spent on that. Walking behind Yugi, who was still talking excitedly about the bracelet, Joey couldn't help but smile when he remembered the Medjay leader. He had tried to kill them for less, so it was probably better if he never learned that Joey had actually taken some part of the treasure despite his warnings, but it would still be great to see the bastard’s face when he realised that.

“I think the bracelet is some sort of guide to the Lost Oasis of Ahm Shere.” Yugi was still talking excitedly, gaze switching between Joey and the chest Jaden was carrying behind them, since Joey, having taken almost all the suitcases, couldn't carry that one too. Turned back as he was and not looking where he was going, he almost walked straight into Tea, who had just risen from the sofa, and took a graceful step aside to keep the crash in the making from happening.

“Lost Oasis? You know, you could at least say hello before you make plans to leave again.” She smiled at Yugi, who returned her smile, not fully facing her. 

“I'm not planning on leaving. And I just saw you, I didn't have the time to say hello.” He hugged her shortly, before Tea, with a shake of her head, turned her eyes to Joey, who let the suitcases fall down to the floor with a thud. 

“He's definitely planning on leaving right now.” 

Yugi turned his head from left to right between the two of them, an offended look on his face. “Am not!”

Suddenly frowning, Yugi turned back to Tea. “Wait a moment… Aren’t you supposed to be still in Cairo?” They didn’t exactly have had time to check in with her before they left, with Isis and the museum, and all the talks and promises and bureaucracy necessary to take the chest out of the country, but he was very sure that Tea was supposed to still be working. Also, she loved Cairo. The city and everything happening there was as much part of her as her dancing, like there was a rhythm to the city and the way it worked that was in her blood, that she was attuned to it like nothing else. Seeing her outside of her city was a bit disconcerting to be honest, a puzzle piece suddenly not fitting any more.

Tea crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised an eyebrow. “What? Can't I take a holiday once in a while? I might have actually missed you guys, you know?” 

Joey snorted. “Yeah right. Trust me, you didn't miss anything, just Yugi being eager to run into the next end of the world.” 

Yugi shook his head. “You really think the worst of me.” His eyes wandered over to the suitcases, and a sly smile ghosted over his lips. “But, if you insist on thinking that, it's quite fortunate that we have packed already…”

Joey shook his head. “No.” There was no way he was letting himself get dragged to Egypt again. Not so soon. He had just escaped death by drowning for heaven’s sake—he deserved a little break! He should have followed Ryou's and Tristan's example. Both of them had disappeared into the vast inside of the house, Ryou to catch his rest and Tristan… Tristan had mumbled something about having to check up on something and that he wanted to talk to Joey later. Normally Joey wouldn't have lost a thought about that, but there had been something in the way he had said that, in his voice and his eyes…Tristan had been afraid.

And fuck it, that alone was reason enough for Joey to stay here, and try to talk Yugi out of a new excursion to Egypt. Maybe Tea could be convinced to help. Because that could only be better than whatever Tristan wanted to talk to him about. 

“Yugi, we just got home, I haven’t even seen my sister yet”—where was Serenity by the way?—”and I really want to rest. Give me one good reason why we should go to this oasis. And it better be  _ really _ good.”

Yugi turned his head at him. “It's just an oasis, Joey, nothing more.” He looked like the personification of innocence, eyes wide and guileless, and Joey nearly snorted. Oh yes, just an oasis. Probably just like Hamunaptra could be called just a city under the right point of view. “Nothing but a beautiful, calm, relaxing place in the desert.”

Joey nodded. “Oh, the kind with white sandy beaches, and palm trees, and cool clear blue water…” Damn it, was he trying to talk himself into that? He knew it wouldn't be anything like that; this was them. It would never work out like that. 

Tea walked back to the sofa to pick up the novel she had been reading before they arrived. “And don't forget the drinks, those big ones with little umbrellas.” The barely hidden laughter in her voice mirrored the Tea's sparkle in her eyes quite well. 

Yugi was nodding along hastily. “See, that sounds good, no?” 

Joey threw him a sarcastic smile. “Sounds too good. What’s the catch?” He was looking Yugi straight in the eyes, demanding an answer. Yugi wasn't interested in while palm beaches; if he wanted to go to an oasis, something ancient and quite likely cursed lay there.

Damn, caught. Yugi hadn’t expected that to work, actually, but it would have been nice if it could have been that easy. He dropped his smile and returned Joey's gaze. “Supposedly it's the resting place of the Scorpion King and his army.”

“See?” Joey raised his arms in an exasperated gesture, before he flew around. “See? I knew there’s a catch! There’s always a catch!” Having voiced his general frustrations through the room and the incredibly unimpressed audience of Tea and Yugi, he turned back around towards Yugi. “Ah, who the hell is this Scorpion King guy anyway?”

Yugi, who had waited with crossed arms for Joey to finish, smiled. “An ancient warrior. The sources disagree on whether he was truly a king, whether he was Egyptian or Mesopotamian…” He began to walk away, to get back upstairs to one of the bookshelves strewn around the mansion, one he was almost sure held a book on the Scorpion King. If it wasn't this shelf, then maybe the one down the hall… With a smile he shortly tossed his head back to Joey. “My money is on him being Acadian, but that's just as much a guess as any other theory.” He focused back on trying not to fall over the stair while he talked, Joey and Tea slowly following after him. 

“Basically, we have a plethora of legends, and not much. I did mention the part about the possible tomb in Abydos, which would fit in time wise, but with nothing else in the story, and the symbol of a Scorpion not being proof enough…”   


“Yugi.” Tea caught up with him, and swished her hand in front of his face, which nearly made him stumble again. “That's interesting, but maybe you could backtrack a little. What did he do?” 

Stopping for a moment Yugi nodded at her, before he shrugged. “For short, fought a tyrant. Again there was a whole academic battlefield out there about which country said tyrant came from…incredibly interesting, but probably again, too much detail. Then he became one himself, he and his army got beaten up pretty badly, and thrown out of Thebes.” He couldn't stifle an eyeroll at that part. Most of the more reliable stories around the Scorpion King placed this warrior sometimes around 3000 BC, 5000 years ago. There had barely existed cities at that time in Egypt, much less something like Thebes. A whole lot of local rulers had only slowly started to enlarge their territories. And Menes, the legendary ruler who had, according to legends, first united Egypt into one country, might have barely had time to finish his work. But legends needed a good setting, and the explicit mention of Thebes might have hinted to the territory of Upper Egypt as the origin point for this legend. 

Yugi turned his head again, and just barelymanaged to avoid running into the bookshelf he had searched for. “He and his army were driven into the desert, where they all died a pretty gruesome death, till only he was left alive. According to the story, he made a deal with…something in the desert.” The name mostly mentioned when talking about the being the Scorpion King made the pact with was Anubis, but nearly everyone could agree that that, just like the whole pact thing itself, was probably a later time embellishment. It sounded too much like a pact with the devil, which was more Christian mythology than Egyptian, and Anubis might have been a death god, but also on of the nicest gods in the whole pantheon. He wasn't the one you'd first think of if you looked for a devil-like figure to make a pact with. Unless you associated death with evil, and thought that the black jackal which was Anubis animal form must surely be a bad sign. But that was a whole other topic.

Yugi leaned against the shelf. “In the end he got handed an immortal, unbeatable, monstrous army, razed Thebes to the ground, and in the moment of his triumph, he and his army got sucked back into Ahm Shere, because that was the prize for the army.” You could almost hear the moral in this story, about how any deal with the devil never paid off. 

“And now he is supposed to awaken every 5000 years.” He mumbled that last part. Not that anyone ever got around to prove or disprove that part.

Joey nodded. “Oh yes, and let me guess, if someone doesn't kill him, he is going to wipe out the world?” 

Yugi blinked up at him. “How did you know that?” For one second Joey just wanted to bury his head in his arms. How did he know that? Good question, Yugi. 

“I didn't. But that's how those stories always go.” Exactly those kind of stories they always ended up in. No, thank you, not this time. Joey would stay the hell away from that oasis, and Yugi and the others would too, and Yugi could try out his sad puppy eyes as much as he liked. Joey wouldn't walk into that trap.

Yugi looked at him for a second, before he turned back to the shelf, searching again for the book. It had to be here somewhere. “You know, there were a few expeditions that reached Ahm Shere. The last one was sent by Ramses IV. He send over a thousand men.” Now they were beyond stories. That expedition was a well recorded, well proven fact.

Tea turned her head to follow his movements. “And what did the find?” 

Yugi shrugged, at the same moment as Joey raised his eyes heavenwards. “Nothing. Because let me guess, none of them were ever seen again?” It was hardly a question, but Yugi still turned his head back to him. 

“How did you know?” He sounded honestly surprised, and that was what was keeping Joey's irritation in check. As brilliant as Yugi was, he sometimes could be so blind towards the obvious, especially when the obvious was threatening to kill him. He wouldn't intentionally lead them to their deaths; he would just be too fascinated and curious to see how deadly the adventure actually would be. 

“I didn't. But again, that's always the story.”

Yugi turned his head sideways to look at him. “Did I mention that there was a Pyramid of Gold?” He didn't even sound like he cared about that, or like he was trying to trick Joey into being interested. Hamunaptra's gold had taken care of that, and they both knew it. No, it was just another interesting little fact. He probably could throw them at Joey all day, and that was when it would become worrisome. When Yugi had that many tidbits of facts ready, when he was that deep into a story and a legend, nearly nothing would get his thoughts away from that. And also, he had mentioned this pyramid before—on the plane ride home.

“Twice.” Joey lifted his hand to show the number on his fingers, and Yugi smiled, finally abandoning the shelf. The book wasn't there, then he would have to try his luck with the other shelf. “Alexander the Great sent troops in search of it.” He was barely turning his head towards Joey and Tea, who shared a look before they trailed after him. 

“Horray for him.” Joey couldn't sound less enthusiastic, and Tea had more and more trouble hiding her grin.

Yugi talked on as if he hadn't heard Joey. “So did Caesar.” 

Tea lifted a brow. “That isn't quite a shining endorsement.” 

Joey nodded. “Yeah, look what happened with his career. Guy had judgment problems.” 

Yugi's shook his head. “Only when it came to people, not with military plans.” 

Tea nodded. “Oh sorry, of course. That makes it better.”

Yugi was still barely listening. “Oh, and Napoleon too!” 

Joey was just nodding along at that point. “Yeah, but we’re smarter than him. And…” He gestured vaguely upwards. “And taller too. Well,” he couldn't hide a grin as he spoke. “Some of us.”

Yugi turned around on the ladder he had just climbed to reach the upper shelf to glare down at him. That was a cheap shot, Joey knew, but honestly, Yugi had this one coming, just for the stupid, mad idea he was cooking up now. Yugi seemed to agree, since he just rolled his eyes and turned back to the shelf, to grab one book. 

“Exactly, and that's why we are going to find it.” He turned around to hand Joey the book, who looked at it like it was living snake, and made no motion to take it. 

“Because some of us are taller?” Yugi just shook his head, and turned to look towards Tea as he climbed down, who shrugged. 

“You walked into that one.” 

But then her expression changed, and she bit her lips nervously. “But, as nice as this is, could we change the topic for a moment? Back to another haunted location? Because I think...” She hesitated. “I'm not sure, but the reason why I'm here is… Something might be going on in Hamunaptra.” She broke off, and Yugi and Joey stared at her, both completely blindsided. The thunderclap directly following her words did add a very theatrical effect to them, admittedly.

Outside the house, the storm was now heading towards its climax, with rain and wind working together to make it as uncomfortable as possible; one of those nights were every sensible person stayed inside and shut the windows and door tight to make sure nothing could get in, be it rain, cold, or something else. A night where bad omens were abroad. 

The two black cars heading down the driveway towards the mansion were unimpressed by both the rain and the wind, even turning down the lights for the last couple of meters. It wouldn't have made a difference anyway. Nobody inside was paying the outside even the slightest attention.

Jaden, who was walking by one of the windows on the ground floor, still carrying the chest with the bracelet, might have noticed them if he had turned his head to look, but he didn't. And so one car made its way to the backside of the mansion, while the other parked right in front of the entrance gate.

“Yugi?!” It had taken Jaden a while to orient himself in this house. It wasn't quite his first time here, but, since its dimensions were roughly equal to the museum in Cairo, it was just a tad bit confusing. So naturally it had taken him a while to catch up with the others. That, and there was another distraction he had…”What should I do with this chest?! This thing weighs a ton!”

From his position he could see Yugi, Joey and Tea standing behind the balustrade from where you could look down the first floor to the ground floor. Yugi was looking at Tea, his attention otherwise occupied since he didn't even turn his head to look for either Jaden or the chest. “Oh, just put it down somewhere.” Yes, clearly his mind was somewhere else.

Jaden put the chest onto a nearby table and took a step back. It looked incredibly pretty, made completely out of metal, and covered with a carefully crafted relief. Jaden could understand why Yugi hadn't wanted to leave it behind in the temple, even as locked shut as it was, but after hauling it around the whole way from the taxi to the table, his interest in it had cooled down. He hadn't been kidding when he had complained about the weight. And again, he had something different to occupy his mind now.

Carefully he glanced sideways, to the small shimmering monster currently busy turning around to look at everything. It had accompanied him nearly all the way from Thebes. Not that it had been visible. After leaving the temple, when they had packed up all their findings for transport, it had disappeared for a while, and Jaden had feared that it was gone. Or worse, that it had never existed at all. That everyone who had ever complained about his hyperactive imagination; about his inability to be still, to focus, to concentrate had been right; and he had finally lost his mind.

So he had been incredibly relieved when the little guy had appeared again at the museum in Cairo. While the others had talked with Isis, Jaden had looked through his ostraca again, feeling a bit desolated. And then, just as he had finally convinced himself that he had just seen a figment of his imagination, there had been this chirping, the unmistakable “Kuri!” and his little friend had appeared again. It had taken Jaden only one second, smiling at his new friend. The ostraca shard he was holding at the moment—the very same one he had been occupied with in the temple, with the drawing of the little fuzzball in front of him—went deep into his pocket and out of sight.

He had felt incredibly guilty, still felt that way to be honest. Nothing found in Egypt was actually allowed to leave the country. Even the chest standing on the table now was on a very strict loan and Yugi had only been allowed to take it because the people in power knew him, and knew that he would return it. Even if it was just a little ceramic shard, something nobody would even notice was gone, Jaden had stolen it.

His hand tightened around the shard, and he sighed. It wasn't like he wanted to keep it. He had every intention of returning it; he just didn't know when that would be, so in fact he had borrowed it, not stolen it. Not that he thought anybody would care about that difference but…didn't matter, that was a problem for later.

Jaden looked back up at his friend, and tried to shove his guilt aside as he smiled at the little creature. “You know, if you stay around, you're going to need a name.” 

His new friend nodded. “Kuri! Kuriboh! Kuri, kuri!” 

Jaden laughed. “Ok, I get it. What do you think about Kuriboh?” Not the most creative name ever, given that this was the only word the little guy seemed capable of saying, but maybe that was what made it perfect. Short and simple, and his new friend would be capable of introducing himself if anyone else happened to be able to see him. Given the ecstatic somersault the little Kuriboh did in the air, and the way he nuzzled into Jaden’s neck immediately afterwards, Jaden assumed he might like this name.

He laughed, and playfully shoved Kuriboh away to get a better look at him, when a soft click behind him made him stop. For a moment he wasn’t sure if he had heard anything at all, if he had just imagined the sound. But as he turned around to look for it he heard something else, just barely loud enough that he could notice it was there, but not loud enough that he could make out actual sounds. It was nothing more than soft murmurings and whispers. And they were coming from the chest.

Slowly he glanced up at Kuriboh. “You’re hearing this too, right?” His new friend nodded, but given that Jaden still couldn't quite be sure that he wasn't imagining him, it didn't have quite the reassuring effect he had hoped for. Also, the little guy was, as far as Jaden could tell at least, looking nervous. Still, it couldn't hurt to look, right? Carefully Jaden took a step closer.

At the walkway overlooking the groundfloor Joey was slowly laughing. “Hey, really funny. Something must be wrong with my ears. Because you know, I thought you said something would be happening at Hamunaptra. And that's impossible.” He could hear the growing hysterics, the forced cheer in his own voice, but yes, fuck it, he was scared. There better be nothing happening in Hamunaptra! That city was buried, and crumbled, and good riddance to it all! 

But Yugi was looking way too calm for this to be a joke, to be nothing more than a figment of Joey's frayed nerves. His friend turned to Tea, and was just looking at her, more serious than he had been the last few hours, and that was what sent Joey's alarm bells truly ringing. Yugi couldn't take this serious, could he? 

“Why do you think that?” Fuck, even his voice sounded calm, like they were talking about an academic problem, not the place they nearly died in multiple times over and nearly brought down the apocalypse.

Tea drew in a deep breath. “I'm not quite sure. It's nothing concrete, maybe then I would be calmer, but there are so many tiny things…” She shook her head, an almost frustrated gesture and started again. “Mehmet was the first who drew my attention to it. His brother makes his living working on any excursions happening, and he told him about a very well paying job a few months ago. Mehmet was really excited, because the whole family could really use the money. And then Ayesha had a similar story, a couple days later, about her husband working on something quite familiar sounding, and Merwat mentioned something about her son, and there were a couple others…the strange thing was they never talked about the same excursion, as if they were happening all over Egypt, but.” She shrugged. “So many people being willing to pay that much over the norm at the same time just struck me as strange. So I kept listening.”

She turned away from her friends and took a few steps towards the balustrade, and let her fingers run over the wood. “They disappeared. From one day to another, nobody ever heard from these workers again, and nobody even knew where they really went. All these people just disappeared.” Her hands balled into fists, gripping the railings with all the strength she had and as she spoke her gaze went into nothing, her voice tight and angry. “All these people just disappeared, and nobody cared. Nobody but their families.” She remembered Merwat’s heartbroken cries for her son, the worry in Mehmet’s face, the grief and fear all those people with which she had spoken had to live with now. “They were too unimportant to look for,” She nearly spat the words out. “In a city too full with people nobody cares about.”

She flew around, hot and burning with anger. “So I did. I listened, and I put a few things together. This is all second hand, but…” Tea drew her shoulders up, and lifted her fingers as she continued. “One, there were at least three guys involved in hiring people, two most likely European, one Egyptian. And nobody knows who they were. They seemed to have come out of the woodwork, for all everyone knew.” She took a deep breath. “And two, and this is guess work, but, the different locations, the excursions they were hired for…they are pretty far spread, and whomever planned that put a lot of thought into putting them all over Egypt. Maybe even too much thought.” She looked up. “Because if you sit down with a map, and mark those spots, you see that they are everywhere, in nearly every nome, in every part of the country. Except one.”

Yugi slowly nodded. “Hamunaptra.” Tea looked over to him, and returned his nod, eyes serious. “Exactly. It might mean nothing, might actually be coincidence, but from a certain point of view it surely looks like someone took extreme care to avoid mentioning something happening in the desert around there.”

For a moment there was only silence and then… “Fuck.” Joey let out a shaky breath. “Oh fine, everything is perfectly fine. There's the possibility that someone is digging up Hamunaptra again. Great.” It wasn't fine, it was anything but fine, but…”They can't find anything there, can they?” He turned towards Yugi, something sounding a lot like begging in his voice. “The city collapsed, nothing is left, and your mummy friend took Zorc down with him into this creepy fog pool. Please tell me that there’s nothing left.”

Yugi looked into his friend’s pleading eyes and really wished he could be more reassuring in his answer. “I…think so?” He shrugged. “From what I could tell everything you said is true, and there's still Seth and the other Medjay keeping watch, but…” He sighed. “But they also shouldn't know where to search for the city, not without the map, or someone who was there leading them, and we and Ryou are the only ones left alive who could do that so…”

Joey interrupted him. “So since we know it wasn’t us, and we know where Ryou is and that he didn't do this either, and since the Medjay would probably rather kill themselves and cut their tongues out than telling someone, the question is how did they find it?” When the other two nodded, he sighed again. “Fuck…” He threw his hand through his hair. “This is sounding worse and worse every second…”

Downstairs Jaden reach for the box, and slowly turned the star-shaped key which was still placed in the lock, only to jump back slightly when the chest sprang open. When nothing jumped out to bite him, he slowly stepped closer again and lifted the lid. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Kuriboh nervously hovering closer next to him. “It's ok.” He wasn’t sure if he was trying to calm down his new, ghostly friend or himself. Or both. “It's nothing. Just…” His voice stopped for a moment as he looked at the contents of the chest. “Just a really cool looking bracelet.”

That thing really  _ did  _ look cool. A bit bulky, and almost too heavy to wear, but that gigantic scorpion with the jackal head was epic. Jaden hesitated for a moment, all fear and the mysterious clicks and voices forgotten, throwing a short glance upwards, where Joey, Yugi and Tea were still talking with each other. Nope, they wouldn't pay any attention to him soon… It was a bit concerning how worried they looked, but then again they were adults. For them there was always something to worry about. It probably wasn't that serious.

Sure that he was safe from supervision for a moment, Jaden grasped the bracelet. For its size it was lighter than he expected, still heavy but not so much that he didn't think he couldn’t wear it. Kuriboh fluttered into his face, letting out a series of high-pitched chirps and shrieks, clearly not likening what Jaden was doing, and so he smiled up reassuringly at the little guy. “Don't worry, I just want to take a look. It won't be more than a minute.” Why was he so worried? It was just a bracelet, not a death trap.

He placed it onto his arm, and nearly screamed when the legs of the scorpion form the band snapped shut around his arm, setting the bracelet irremovably in place. At the same moment the eyes of the jackal glowed up, and an orange-brown light, a bit like the air during a sandstorm, shot out from it. Ok, maybe it could be a death-trap!

More than a bit freaked out Jaden turned around, the light from the jackal eyes following his every movement, till he stopped parallel to the walkway, where Yugi and the others stood. One glance down and they would see him, and for a moment Jaden was about to shout out, to alert them to the fact that their new find was doing something very strange. He probably would be in trouble and could look forward to another lecture on not grabbing everything that looked shiny, but that would still be better than this strange glowing eye.

Only right as he was about to call out the light spread, covering the air underneath the walkway like it was a cinema screen, letting the salon behind it disappear completely. Jaden’s mouth fell open as he suddenly looked directly at the great pyramids. It was almost like being back home in Cairo, looking up at them from the river only…only Jaden definitely never recalled such new looking temples in front of them. And they weren't the only buildings added: there were a couple of mastabas, and a causeway, and walls and…entirely too much. It almost looked like Jaden had imagined it when Yugi had taken a walk with him one time, and explained exactly what the stone piles around the three pyramids were once upon a time, and where the funerary and valley temples were and so on. So…was he looking at the pyramids as they had looked 3500 years ago?

Upstairs Joey raised his head again to look at his two friends. “So, you two want to look into that?” He sounded so resigned Yugi felt bad for him, but he nodded. 

“I think at least I have to. We put Zorc down last time, but if that wasn’t forever…” A sharp pain shot through him. If all they went through that back then, the deaths of the Americans, Atem’s sacrifice, all the people who died when fire fell from the heavens in Cairo, everything else… If that wasn’t enough, then …no, he couldn't let all of that be for nothing. He owed them all that much at least. 

“I woke him up last time. I have to make sure he stays down.” And despite the fact that he had been teasing Joey with a possible excursion towards Ahm Shere, he actually wanted to stay in London for a while. The Bembridge scholars had practically been begging him to run the British Museum, and he wouldn’t lie if he claimed that this was one of his lifetime dreams fulfilled. But if Tea was right…

Tea nodded. “I'll come with you. The workers… I need to know what happened to them. Their friends and family need that closure.” 

Joey just nodded. “Good.” He never wanted to see this city, this particular place of desert, again. What the hell was Seth doing anyway? Guarding the city was his job, wasn't it? Joey shouldn't feel responsible for that! 

But he did, that was the problem. He might have been against everything that led to the almost-apocalypse two years ago, and thus had, from his perspective, nothing to feel guilty about, but being free from blame didn't absolve him from responsibility. Whatever was going on there, they wouldn't sleep well ever again Yugi and Tea left and he stayed. He just couldn't look away. 

“Well, I guess than it's actually good we already packed.” Damn it…at least it wasn't Ahm Shere and this crazy Scorpion King. He would take the devil he knew over something new every time.

Jaden had barely time to register the scenery of the pyramids before the image flew forward, swooping across the desert, along the Nile, over cities and ships and deserts and buildings. It felt like he was getting jerked along with it, even stumbling forward a few steps, before the ride suddenly stopped, throwing him forward. The image settled again on one location. He blinked, trying to find his balance. Again it looked like the world was brand new, or at least not collapsed, but just like the pyramids, this was something so striking, Jaden would recognise it everywhere, from the pylons to the ram sphinx avenue and great hypostyle hall. This could only be Karnak.

He blinked again, and the image vanished, as if a dia-projector inside the bracelet had just broken down. Carefully he shook his hand, trying to see if he could activate it again, but nothing happened. Only then Jaden breathed out slowly. Something soft touched his face, and he looked up to see Kuriboh cuddling into his cheek, clearly looking worried. Jaden smiled, a bit more shaky than usual. 

“I'm fine, don't worry. Nothing happened.” He stopped shortly. “Wait, did you see that too?” Kuriboh shook himself left and right, something Jaden interpreted as a no, and something cold formed in his stomach.

What the hell had just happened? Either way, it was too much for a day, or night as it was. He would pull the bracelet off right away, put it back into the box, and then astonish everyone who ever knew him by going to bed right away. Normally he was only sleeping through lessons, not when he should, so Isis would have been overjoyed if she could see him now. And tomorrow everything would be forgotten, like nothing had ever happened. It was a good plan; Jaden was almost proud of himself. He just had to figure out how to get the bracelet off.

He tucked at it, drew at it with all the strength he could muster, but that damned thing wasn't moving an inch.

“I told you that would come in handy.” The smile Yugi threw Joey now was weak, a clear sign at how disturbed he was by the news. Probably the best hint that they were going towards the apocalypse again. 

Joey sighed. “Ok, I'm going to tell Tristan and Ryou's. Somebody has to give them the good news.” Tristan would be  _ so _ happy. And Ryou…heaven knew how he would take the news. Joey still wasn’t sure just how much Ryou actually remembered, but asking after that was always a bit awkward.  _ Hey Ryou, do you remember how you almost killed us multiple times, turned a few people into mummies and tried to bring about the end of the world with the plagues? Good times, wasn't it? _ just didn't have a ring to it.

Yugi nodded. “Then I'm going to check what we packed and look after Jaden.” He threw a glance at Tea. “I guess we could leave him with Isis and Miho at the museum. I really don't want to drag him into this. Or maybe Serenity could keep an eye on him.” Tea nodded too, and while she and Yugi headed downstairs, Joey turned round the corner to look for the rest of their merry group. And he had so been looking forward to a calm evening at home. At least he could check in with Serenity on the way, see her one last time before he ran towards certain death in the desert again.

Turning his head he threw a glance downwards, in the direction where he had last seen Jaden. “Jaden, behave yourself for five minutes, ok?” 

Jaden just saw him disappear around the corner, and with Yugi's and Tea's steps on the stairs he was pretty sure he would get company soon. He nodded hastily. “You betcha!” His voice sounded almost too cheerful, but then again that wasn’t much different to how he normally sounded. Hastily he drew the sleeve of his jacket over the bracelet, covering it completely, and looked around for something to fill the chest with. If couldn't get it off, there was no way he would avoid a lecture, but he could at least stave it off as long as he could.

He grabbed the first small figure which looked like it might fit into the chest and threw the lid shut, turning around just in time to see Yugi and Tea arriving. Yugi smiled at him. “Happy to be back here?” There was something in his voice that almost sounded like guilt, but possibly that was just Jaden's own bad conscience. 

He nodded. “Couldn’t be happier.” He almost winced. His voice was definitely too high now, too pressed, but it was not like he could change that now.

Yugi's smile faltered a bit, sharing a short look with Tea, and Jaden's heart stopped, sure that he was found out, that Yugi was disappointed in him now. “Oh… You see, there has been a problem in Egypt, and we might have to go back there for a while. You probably shouldn’t come with us.” He really sounded guilty now. “But you could still stay here, if you like, or with Isis at the museum, whatever you want.” 

Jaden nearly breathed out a sigh of relief. Oh good, they hadn't noticed anything. He wasn’t in trouble. He was so relieved it took a moment for Yugi’s words to sink in. “Wait, we just were in Cairo this afternoon. Did something happen so fast?” He looked from Yugi to Tea and now that he really looked, he could see how much they both radiated worry and fear. Something was definitely wrong, and the cold in his stomach solidified to an ice block.

Yugi and Tea shared a fast look. “Nothing happened.” The answer came so automatically, Jaden nearly rolled his eyes. Adults. Somehow they never realised nobody ever believed them when they said there was nothing. Yugi at least was vaguely aware of that, since he amended. 

“At least nothing you have to worry about.” He smiled at Jaden, and it was clearly supposed to be reassuring, but at the moment it had the opposite effect. Then Yugi's gaze fell on the chest, and his eyes narrowed. “Jaden, where's the key?” 

A few corridors down in the upper floor of the west wing, Tristan was pacing nervously. He was only a few steps away from his room, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to step into it, to wait for Joey there. Or maybe retire for the night, but he didn't think he would be able to sleep anyway. Not with Hirutani being back.

He had spent every second since his arrival back home here, pacing up and down, even grabbing one of the trinkets lying around—a golden highly decorated staff, something Joey had taken from Hamunaptra, and maybe the last thing that hadn't been sold yet. Currently Tristan was nervously juggling it from one hand to the other, almost dropping it a few times without even noticing what he was doing.

Somehow Joey had been lucky one more time; somehow he and Yugi had avoided running into him. Given how he had acted Joey obviously didn't even have the slightest idea Hirutani had even been close. But Tristan couldn't fool himself into thinking that this would be over now, or that his friend’s luck would hold. Hirutani was like a bloodhound when he was on a hunt, unable to let go till he had tracked down and killed his target, and with Joey everything turned even more obsessive and personal. No, he had to tell Joey about that incident, as soon as possible, ideally right now… He just had no idea how to do that. Or if he would even be able to open his mouth and break down every bit of peace his friend had been able to find. 

With a sigh he turned back towards the door to his room. Running a hole in the carpet wouldn't help him either way, and if he had to do it, he might as well wear down his own floors. He threw open the door, took a few steps into the room and suddenly found himself face to face with two men, dressed from head to toe in red, stalking towards him with hostile intent. 

Tristan looked from one to the other. “Sorry guys, I think you're in the wrong house.” He took a step back, fist already balled for a fight, only to walk into a third and a fourth one, who grabbed him from behind, giving the other two enough time to catch up and hold him down too. A fifth closed the door behind him. They were like mushrooms, popping up everywhere. Tristan was dragged forward, trying to break loose, until a familiar voice sounded out, making him freeze in an instant. 

“Oh no, Tristan. We are definitely in the right place.”

His breath stopped, and Tristan found himself thrown into a chair, still held back by the guys in red, while Hirutani stepped out of the shadows, flanked by Glasses and the other guy from the temple, grinning down at Tristan. Everything seemed to freeze in that moment, as if time stood still and his heart stopped. Tristan could only look at Hirutani with the numbing fear spreading through his veins and only one thought in his mind: Shit.

The fear must have been written in his face because Hirutani's grin deepened as he took another step towards him. “What's the matter? Did you really think I would be so impolite not to greet my old friends? Sadly the visit in the temple was too short for that, but don't worry.” Now his grin turned surely feral. “I intend to make up for that. How's Joey?”

Tristan's breath caught. Anger and hate won over the fear. Damn him. Hell was too good for a monster like him. He had no idea how Hirutani had gotten here, how he had found this house, found out that Joey lived here, but that didn't matter. He had no right to be here, to show up in their home, to threaten them all, and Tristan would be damned if he let him. 

“Fuck you.”

Hirutani just laughed. “Oh please, no need to be so aggressive now. I'm just asking. Joey is only number two on my priorities tonight. At the moment I am much more interested in the bracelet of Anubis, so my pleasure will have to wait for later.”

Tristan blinked. “The what?” He truly had no idea what the hell Hirutani was talking about, and even if he had known, he wouldn't have told him. Any moment Hirutani was stalled here with this quest was a moment he wasn't going after Joey…Who still had no idea that he was even coming. Tristan cursed himself again silently. He really should have said something sooner. 

Hirutani took another step closer to him. “Where is it?” 

Tristan smiled at him, using the most surprised and innocent expression he was capable of. If that bastard really thought he was going to tell him anything, he had another thing coming. “What? Oh, you're looking for it here. For the bracelet of old Anubis. I see. Sorry.” He leaned back as comfortably as he could be under the given circumstances, and grinned up at Hirutani. “I haven't got a fucking clue what you're talking about.”

Hirutani's eyes tightened. “Tristan.” He almost sounded disappointed. “You try my patience.” That must have been the signal for Glasses because he took a step next to Tristan and pressed a dagger towards his throat, tight enough that Tristan could feel the pressure. A second later he could feel something warm trickling down his skin. Tristan gulped.

“The bracelet? Oh that bracelet!” He couldn’t die here, he needed to get out of this room—now. But for that to be possible he had to tell Hirutani something. “Yes, now I remember.” The pressure from his throat lifted a bit, and Tristan’s grin returned. “I lost it in a card game.” Not the smartest thing to say, especially since he knew how easily Hirutani could explode, but it was the first thing that came to mind and as dangerous as it was he was not going to make this easy for that monster either.

Hirutani's smile had now completely vanished. But before he could say something, another voice cut through. “Really. For your own sake, I hope not.” 

Tristan turned his head to see another man step out from the shadows. He was older, with streaks of silver running through his short black hair, but he still carried himself as tall and upright as if age couldn't touch him. His face was angular and harshly cut, with a pair of hard grey eyes burning out from it. Clad in a red suit, and moving like everything surrounding him belonged to him, he looked powerful and distinguished and very different from Hirutani's usual company. And Tristan was sure he had never fucking seen him in his life before. Still looking at him sent a shiver down his spine. Every one of his instincts screamed at him that this was someone who knew no mercy, and Tristan’s fear heightened when Hirutani took as step aside to let him pass.

He stopped a couple of steps away from Tristan and looked down on him, a contemptuous smile on his lips. But then his eyes suddenly widened, fixating on the sceptre Tristan was still holding. In one harsh gesture he grabbed it and tore it out from Tristan's grasp, showing a surprising strength. Tristan tried vainly to grasp for it again, the dagger at his throat now putting on more pressure again. 

“It can't be!” The astonishment and shock in the man’s words nearly made Tristan roll his eyes. What couldn't be? Some strange Egyptian artefact lying around here? He did know that they broke into Yugi's house, right? If he got shocked by a sceptre, he definitely didn't want to see what was strewn about the other rooms. 

The man’s grip tightened on the sceptre, and with a resolute look, he put it down on the table, carefully placed out of Tristan's reach. “Never mind, we have more urgent matters to discuss now.” He turned around, towards a woven basket Tristan was pretty sure he had never seen in the house before. Not that that would have to mean much, given how many things there were, but when the man carefully put aside the basket’s lid to lift a black snake out of it, Tristan suddenly became very sure. Neither Yugi or his grandfather would ever put a snake inside their home.

“Did you know that Egyptian asps are quite poisonous?” The man spoke almost carelessly, lifting the black asp next to his face as if it were a precious pet or maybe an ornamental stola. Tristan gulped. Yes, he did know that. He had seen the effect of such a bite before, and had no intention of facing one himself. The threat was quite clear; the man didn't even have to say it. Which Tristan assumed was the whole damned point. Time to make up some more lies and hope he finally came up with an idea to get out of this mess.

“It's…the bracelet is downstairs. In the garden salon.” The other side of the house, where neither Joey, nor Yugi nor anyone else in the house should be at that time. And fuck it, this guy was even petting the snake. What did he think he was, a villain in a gothic romance? “There's a safe. The combination is 3…20…58.” Sending them looking for a non-existent safe in one of the biggest rooms of the house would buy them all at least some breathing time, wouldn't it? 

“347 something…” He didn't care to make up any more numbers at this point, especially since the stranger was now stepping closer and closer to him, the asp still winding itself through his hands and getting quite close to his face, which made thinking a bit more difficult than it normally would. “What the hell are you doing? It's in the safe downstairs, I told you.” Come on, that was the script, wasn't it? Somebody had to check if his information was true, and in the meantime Tristan would be safe to find some other way out of this situation.

But the stranger just looked bored. “And your point is?” 

Tristan blinked at him. “Ah, you know, I told you so you don't kill me…?” Obviously his captor had no intention to stick to that script. Fuck it, what was the deal with the whole nefarious villain act if you couldn't even rely on them to stick to their script? As if to prove him right, the man smiled at him, still full of contempt. 

“I don't recall ever making that agreement.” 

Asshole.

Tristan had no time to complain about or curse his captor any longer because the snake was now at his throat. He could hear hissing, could see, out of the corner of his eye, how it lifted up its head ready strike, when suddenly there were voices on the corridor and the door to the room flew open.

“I think he's in here…” Ryou stopped straight on the threshold, blinking up at the scene in front of him. Tristan supposed they made for quite a peculiar picture indeed. Five red-dressed men with swords and knives surrounding Tristan in his chair, one of them holding a dagger to his throat, another man holding a snake to his face, and Hirutani and his two lackeys looking as threatening as possible. For that Ryou's reaction was astonishingly understated. He blinked again, and slowly nodded. “Hello.” 

Tristan managed to raise a hand back in greeting, sending his friend a bit of a tense grin. “Hi.” Ryou took a slow step into the room, and then stopped again. 

“Tristan, I thought there was a rule about no wild parties in the house.” Admittedly there was such a rule, but Yugi's grandfather had mostly been joking when he had said that. Mostly. 

Tristan shrugged. “Well, when you're popular...” He jerked his head a bit sideways, as much as he could with the threat of snake and dagger, trying to somehow make Ryou understand that he probably should get out of this room and maybe, he didn't know, warn the others? It should have been the logical thing to do, but Ryou hadn’t shown much self-preservation in the temple either, so maybe he needed a couple more hints. 

The pressure on his throat tightened even more and Tristan felt another line of blood trickling down. Fuck, that guard needed a steadier hand. Usually you didn't want your guy to bleed out before you got him poisoned by the snake; that would be a terrible waste of the snake. He turned his head back, which really didn't give him much more than one or two millimeters of breathing space, just as someone else stepped into the room.

“Ryou, Tristan, is something…” Joey froze in the middle of his step, right as Ryou turned to face him. With wide eye, Joey saw the scene before him and the man who turned his head to grin up at him. 

“Joey. It's been way too long.” Hirutani's grin could have cut glass.

Downstairs Yugi and Tea were turning over everything in the entrance hall, with Jaden at least trying to help.

“Jaden, I mean it, if you lost that key, you are grounded.” Yugi wasn't really angry, just annoyed, but of all the things to get misplaced, this key was the one he really couldn't part with. There were too many memories—admittedly most of them tinged with some sort of guilt for opening things he shouldn't have—connected with it.

Jaden shrugged. “I haven’t lost it, I just can't find it right now.” That was a big difference. He knew the key had to be around here somewhere; he had just opened the chest with it. That wasn't lost. But admittedly he had no idea where it went after that. He had gotten a bit distracted with the sudden appearance of the pyramids and Karnak. Shooting a short gaze towards Kuriboh, he saw that his friend was shaking his head before it flittered off, clearly intending to help with the search by looking at everything in the room closely.

Tea looked up from where she had been checking under the sofa, and smiled at him. “Then maybe you should start finding it.” Her tone was kind and Jaden nodded. 

“Yeah, don't worry about it. I will.” The key was too big to disappear after all. He wasn’t worried about that.

“Good evening.” The sudden voice ringing out in the room made them all turn around. Tea rose from her position next to the sofa, and Yugi, who had checked the area around the table and the shelves, bent upwards again to take a step closer to Jaden. The man who had just entered their home regarded them with a cool expression. He was clearly Egyptian, and dressed completely in white, from the turban on his head, to the cape falling around his shoulders and his back, to the kaftan. A pair of broad, round earrings of pure gold were the only decorations he wore. He took another step closer towards them, and a pair of blue eyes so cold they were almost expressionless glided over them. It was probably just a trick of the light but it looked like he didn't have pupils at all, just the flat, uninterrupted blue of the iris. 

A shiver ran down Yugi's spine and instinctively he took a step closer to Tea and Jaden, noticing them also drawing closer together. No matter how polite that intruder talked, something seemed to be very wrong with him.

“Who are you?” Yugi's voice was so even it surprised even himself. Mistrust spoke from every word, but none of the fear slowly crawling through his skin. Jaden! The kid had to get out of this room now, before the situation truly turned dangerous. “What are you doing here?” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tea taking another step forward, placing herself so that now both she and Yugi were standing between the intruder and Jaden, and he nearly smiled at her. To be honest he wanted all three of them not to be in this confrontation, but that wasn't looking very likely anytime soon. At least Jaden wasn't directly in the line of sight anymore and he and Tea could help each other out.

The intruder just looked at them, a half smile on his lips. “I'm looking for the chest of course.” As if that should have been obvious, and with such condescension as if he expected Yugi, Tea and Jaden to just step aside now and hand the chest to him, probably while also excusing themselves for getting in his way. As if it was self-evident that this was how it should go. Yeah, no.

Jaden grabbed it almost immediately, pressing it close to him, staring defiantly and admittedly also a bit scared at the man. The intruder’s smile fell from his lips. “Give it to me.” He still spoke low and almost polite, but the order in his words was now impossible to miss. Yugi hastened a couple of steps aside to grab one of the swords of the wall, tossing another to Tea and lifting his own in front of him without even thinking about what he was doing. 

“Get out of my house.” Actually it was his grandfather’s house, but now wasn't quite the right moment for semantics. Or for wondering since when he knew how to handle a sword. He was pretty sure he never really handled one before, apart from working on them for the museum, but now every movement felt natural, hardly worth a thought, as if his body was moving on its own. If that would help him now, he was definitely not going to complain.

“Ah, Yugi.” Jaden's voice, now definitely unsure and a bit scared, came from somewhere behind him, but Yugi didn't dare to turn his head away from the strange man. “Maybe that's not the best idea.” Jaden was right, it definitely wasn't. Fighting wasn’t really Yugi's strength; that was more like Tristan and Joey's thing, and this was looking like a very bad idea, miraculous new confidence in his sword skills or not. Still, neither Joey nor Tristan were here, luckily for them, and Yugi honestly didn't have a better idea. 

“Jaden, get back there.” With his free hand he gestured behind himself. Ideally, Jaden needed to leave the room, but that was maybe too much to ask.

His opponent just looked at him, emotionless half-smile back in place, as two, three, four, a whole group red-clad men, all clearly armed with swords, drew up behind him. Yugi gulped, and behind him Jaden voiced his own thoughts. “Definitely not the best idea.” 

Next to him Tea let out a shaky breath. “It would probably be time to yell for the others now. Evening out the odds.” Yugi nodded, still not letting his eyes off the attackers in front of them, while he and his friends carefully drew backwards, and the others stepped towards them. A slow dance that was doomed to come to an end. 

“Doesn't matter.” The stranger continued on towards them, and Yugi was pretty sure they would soon be out of space to retreat to. “I'll kill you and take it anyway.” Well it was nice to be clear on just what the intruder’s goals were. Removed any doubts Yugi still had about the situation in mind. But at that moment another voice interrupted his thoughts. One which sounded oddly familiar. 

“I think not.”

At the second the voice spoke, the intruder and his men all took a step back, the men drawing their swords at once, and Yugi's was almost sure he saw something which might be the slightest trace of fear in their eyes. Confused, he dared to slightly turn his had to see how a familiar Medjay leader walked past Jaden who was looking at him with clear mistrust and confusion. 

“Seth. What are you doing here?” He still looked the same as he had two years ago in Egypt, dressed in black, his clothes lavishly decorate with musters stitched in silver, short brown hair and cold blue eyes, and carrying himself as if the whole world belonged to him.

Not that Yugi wasn't happy to see him right now. Admittedly, Seth and his tribe had tried to kill them multiple times, but their reasons for that had been understandable, and without him, Yugi and his friends probably wouldn't have survived their confrontation with Zorc. And he was always glad to have someone he considered a friend on his side when strange people broke into his home and talked about killing them all. He was just a bit confused about what Seth was doing here in England. His tribe and responsibility lie in Egypt, and somehow Yugi couldn't imagine him making a trip to visit someone. Especially if Tea was right and something was happening in Hamunaptra. He should be there. Unless…

Yugi's eyes flickered over to the chest. Strange guys breaking in to claim it, Seth appearing to work against them. If one and one still meant two, that meant this chest had a high chance of being connected to the cursed city. Really, he should have known when the key fitted. 

Seth came to a stop next to him, hardly even looking at Yugi, his concentration fixed on the man in white. “Do you really think this is the moment for explanation?” Yes, he definitely hadn’t changed, still as friendly as ever. Yugi almost smiled. Just like the man in white, only his smile didn't even look half has happy as Yugi felt. 

“Seth.” His voice was still flat, but there was a strange undercurrent to his words, something between recognition, anger and something entirely else. It was barely noticeable, but since the man’s whole attention had now focused on Seth, it did gave Yugi a break to look out for something like this.

Seth's lips curled upward in disgust. “Shadi.” The anger in his voice was unmistakable. Tea's eyes jumped from one of them to the other and when she shot Yugi a confused glance he just shrugged. He was just as confused as she was, but it was clear they knew each other. And they weren't exactly happy to meet. 

Outside the window lightning was flashing, and Joey could hear the wind howling, loud enough to stifle the thunder. But in truth he hardly noticed that. He barely noticed anything but Hirutani grinning at him. With the storm it was an almost exact parallel to the last time he had seen him: the night he had gotten that tattoo, sand and wind howling around them, and Hirutani looking at him. Only this time there wasn't a fresh corpse bleeding out on the floor between them. Yet.

“You.” Joey's throat was dry; he was barely able to breathe, and so fucking proud of himself that he even manged to get that one word out. It took everything he had to keep his body from shaking, to just close his eyes and hope that this was just one more nightmare. He had had them so often over the years, and they always looked pretty much like this. Hirutani, standing in his home and one of his friends lying dead at his feet. Most of the time it was Tristan or Serenity, but then later, Yugi, Tea and Miho, and even Yugi's grandfather and Isis had taken their turn on this carousel of nightmares too. Recently Ryou and Jaden had been among the death too; on very few occasions it had even been Seth. Those were the dreams he always woke up screaming himself hoarse, shaking all over and drenched in sweat, unable to truly find sleep for the next couple of nights after that.

But this time there wasn't a corpse there yet and he was pretty sure he wouldn't wake up screaming this time.

Hirutani's smile deepened, and he took a step towards Joey. Joey almost flinched back, but somehow he seemed to be unable to move, to take even a single step back. “Joey, Joey, Joey. You don't sound that happy to see me. After all this time. I honestly expected a more enthusiastic greeting.” Joey couldn't even answer him, his brain completely empty of words. He just kept standing there, frozen, as Hirutani drew closer and closer.

Suddenly Ryou stepped up next to him. “Well.” He still sounded completely calm, as if they were all sitting down together taking tea at the fucking Ritz and were just talking, not about to be killed by Joey's psychotic ghost of bad pasts. “I hate to interrupt this nice reunion, but this is Yugi's house.” A look flew between Hirutani and the grey-haired man, a silent communication Joey honestly didn't want to decipher but which probably meant that Ryou was dead now.“And I don't think he would be happy to find snakes and dismembered corpses …”

The grey-haired man lifted his hand and threw the snake directly at Ryou. He jumped back, and for a second Joey was sure he would hear him scream now, see his body fall to the floor. The first of them dead. And all the while he was unable to do anything, to even move, because he was fucking frozen with fear, and it was all his fault…

When Ryou turned back around, holding the black snake by the head and looking at it. “Now.” His gaze flittered over to the group surrounding Tristan and especially the man who threw the snake. “That wasn't very polite.”

To the stranger’s credit, it took him only a moment to deal with the new situation. He jumped aside, shouting “Shoot him!”One of the red clad men reacted, lifting his gun, but Ryou was faster. He threw the snake at him, which, already pretty enraged from all that throwing, proceeded to bite its new victim. Maybe that was the signal that broke the spell Joey had been under, maybe his feet finally remembered how moving worked again, but in the next moment he shoved Ryou aside and dove to the other direction, so that the next shot—from one of Hirutani's underlings, he didn't stop to notice whom—missed them both. Another one of the strange soldiers threw a dagger, but Joey simply caught it between two fingers. He turned slightly to get more momentum, and threw it back in one fluid motion. This was the kind of fighting he was used to, the movements as natural to him as breathing. It all came rushing back at him in seconds. The man who threw the knife reacted fast enough to step aside, but the one behind him wasn't so lucky. The knife hit him straight in the chest, and he collapsed without a sound. 

Hirutani just watched, a smile playing on his lips.

The man in white, Shadi, narrowed his eyes at Seth once more, before he shouted at his men to attack. For them it was the signal to run towards Yugi and the others, swords drawn; for Yugi, Tea and Jaden it was the sign to run; and for Seth it simply meant drawing his own sword to meet them. 

At first Yugi had only intended to run for cover, but somehow his body seemed to have a mind of its own. It almost felt like he was watching himself from afar, despite still feeling completely in control, as his body twisted around and he knocked back two men. He raised his sword and met one another in a clash of swords, matching him blow for blow. It was an exhilarating feeling, even if Yugi had no idea how it worked. He just hoped it wouldn't stop any time soon because then he really would be in trouble.

Jaden dove behind the cabinet, trying to stay out of the fight while Tea, with all her dancer’s grace, did her best to stay out of her opponent’s range and still managed to get a few good blows in. And Seth, facing at least three of the soldiers at once, seemed to have the least trouble at all, barely focusing on them as he threw off their attacks left and right, eyes firmly fixed on Shadi, still lingering behind. 

Yugi dove under another fighter's arm and managed to grab him by the shoulder and twist him around, so that his attacker worked as a shield against one of his companions, and got his sword stuck in one of the shelves of the cabinet. Jaden watched open-mouthed, and from across the room, Yugi could hear Tea shouting. 

“Hey, Yugi. When did you learn that?” 

Yugi twisted aside again, coming up behind another fighter, and just shoved him so that he and Yugi's first opponent tumbled down together. Out of breath and now slightly freaked out he overlooked the scene. “Honestly? I have no idea!” But it was working whatever it was, and it seemed so familiar, as if he was only going through the motions he hadn’t practiced in a while. Almost like the feeling back in the temple…

At that moment one of the soldiers flew forward, grabbed him by the throat, and shoved him back. Yugi's back hit the wall hard, knocking out whatever breath he still had in his lungs as the man choked him. Only this time there was no confusion on what to do and why. A swift kick with the knee towards a very sensitive region was enough to make the man loosen his grip and then a hard right hook to the face took care of the rest. 

Yugi breathed hard as he looked up. “But that I learned from Joey and Tristan.” He could hear Tea's laughter from afar. 

“Yes, I recognised that!”

Upstairs another soldier entered the room, shotgun in hand, loaded and ready, and focused on Joey. Joey sprang aside, while Tristan, using the confusion around him, finally dove out of the chair, not without grabbing the sceptre on the table. As shocked as the man was seeing it, it probably was important. And while Tristan had no idea in hell on how or why, he certainly wouldn't hand it over to that asshole that easily. 

He managed to throw himself out of the way and disappeared, as that asshole lifted his machine gun, and started shooting. Ryou had managed to find cover on the floor outside, since he had been closest to the door. Joey just jumped over the chair, kicking it over in the process, so that he had at least a little bit of protection. However, he had no illusions about the safety it could provide, especially with this idiot continuing to shoot, so he rolled sideways, straight through the next door, into the bathroom completing this set of rooms. 

For some reason a bubble bath was already drawn, and as he glided over the marble floor and tried to climb back on his feet, Joey shook his head. Really? Who had taken the time for that? Either way, he didn't have time to ponder that riddle any longer, as the machine gun was making short work of the wooden door, the paravent, and everything else not made of stone in this room—including Joey, if he didn't find a way out of here soon.

Somehow Jaden had found himself into a game of tug-o'-war with one of the attackers, the chest functioning as the rope. Only it was really no surprise that his opponent won that game with ease, throwing him carelessly down on the carpet. He walked away, as if he had barely even seen him. Jaden was still offended. At least this gave him a front row seat to see how the guy named Seth, after impaling one of the attackers on his sword and tossing the corpse aside, turned towards the man in white, Shadi, if he had heard the name right. Shadi finally tossed aside his cloak and lifted his sword to face him. Maybe that should have been epic, and Jaden should have enjoyed watching this more, but truth to be told, it just made him sick with fear. Watching fights in a movie was different from being in the midst of one. This was a place he had started to consider as home, a place which should have been safe. This shouldn't have happened. He just scrambled to his feet and went back to his hiding place behind the cabinet.

Yugi was surprised to find himself not doing too badly in this fight. He and his friends were still alive, and he had no major wounds, so that was a definite win in his mind. He was twisting around again, trying to avoid another one of the attackers; he really couldn't differentiate between them anymore. All dressed the same, when they moved so fast they were barely more than shades of red. Crossing him from the other side of the room and locked in his own fight, Seth threw him a quick glance. 

“What's in the chest?!” Well, that question killed Yugi's “it's all tied to Hamunaptra theory” right there. Obviously Seth wasn't here for the chest. He turned his head for a fraction to answer, trying not to lose sight of his current fight. 

“The bracelet of Anubis!” 

Seth's answer was a curse.

Seth didn't have time for more, to point out that of course those English idiots had unearthed another artefact laid to rest for a reason. You'd think they'd learned their lesson the first time around, but clearly they had a death wish. If so, they could just say it; at the moment Seth would gladly be of help. Since the year of the scorpion had begun, this bracelet was a ticking time bomb, and if those idiots were triggering the end of the world again, he would not be responsible for his actions. 

Only, Shadi interrupted him, before he had time to explain that to Yugi in detail.

Shadi hadn't forgotten a thing since he had last seen him. Truth to be told he actually may have even gotten better, which was a bit of a problem, given that he had always been one of the best and most ruthless fighters in the tribe. They were almost equally matched, trading blows and swords all across the room, and thought Seth would have rather died than ever admitted that, for a moment he almost found himself on the defense, as if he was trying to keep up, to do his best not to be killed. Though that would never happen. He wouldn't allow it to happen. And he would not allow Shadi to get his hands on that bracelet, not while he could imagine exactly what he needed it for. Even if that meant…

Yugi had but a moment to catch his breath, when Seth's voice cut through the chaos in the room. “They must not get the bracelet. Take it and get out of here!” Yugi nodded, trying to get a look to see where the hell the chest had disappeared to. He caught a glimpse of Jaden standing next to the cabinet, and looking up at it in thought.

One of the attackers was trying to get the sword out of the shelf, where Yugi had gotten it stuck earlier. He was standing almost perfectly, and Jaden hardly needed Kuriboh fluttering next to the shelf and point excitedly to it to see what would be the next logical step. He only had to grasp the cabinet and tilt it, for the whole thing to come crashing down on the attacker, burying him underneath porcelain and wood. Normally Jaden would feel bad about that, would have at least hesitated, but those guys were currently trying to kill them, so any bad feelings could wait until later.

He looked up to see Yugi grabbing the chest, right as one of the attackers appeared behind him. “Yugi, look out!” His scream was already too late. Yugi flew around, only for the man’s fist to hit him right in the face. He went down in an instant, accompanied by both Tea's and Jaden's screams. For a moment Jaden almost thought he could hear the Seth guy screaming his name too, but that might have just been the thunder.

No! Seth hadn't taken his eyes of Shadi for more than a second, just long enough for them to flutter towards Yugi, but that was enough. Shadi’s blade cut his shoulder, and he could just barely duck in time to keep the next swing from beheading him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy screaming, and two warriors hurrying away with an unconscious Yugi and the chest.

Shadi, already walking away to follow them, turned around one last time. Seth saw something glitter in his hand at the last possible moment, and only a small movement aside saved his head from getting split in two by the elaborate dagger now buried deep inside the wood next to his head. He didn't need to look at the ceremonial weapon to know what it was, what Shadi meant by that. The chief’s dagger. A wave of hate and anger flew through him, as he watched Shadi turn without another look stroll down the corridor. That bastard…

Joey was looking wildly around the bath. “Tristan?!” Shoving aside the paravent, he cursed again when he found nobody behind it. “Tristan?!” That idiot had to be here somewhere! Admittedly, Joey was currently panicking, so neither his memory nor his mind were in the best possible places, but fuck that, from where Tristan had been in the room when that madman had started to shoot around, his only way of flight had to lead him into the bathroom. So where the hell was he? At least he hadn't found a corpse lying around yet… Shaking that thought from his mind he screamed again. “Tristan?!”

A spluttering sound behind him nearly made him jump out of his skin. Flying around, ready to attack whatever monster had now appeared behind him—whatever it was, it couldn't be worse than the monster in the other room—he came face to face with Tristan, gasping for air, slowly surfacing from the bubble bath.

For a moment Joey just looked at him, and Tristan, catching his look through the foam covering his face and eyes, raised his shoulders sheepishly. “It...seemed like the best hiding place?” It sounded more like a question than a defense, and Joey wasn’t even going to honour that with an answer.

Rolling his eyes, he hauled Tristan out of the bath by his shoulders. “What the hell are they doing here!?” He realised he was screaming at Tristan, that he was demanding an answer his friend probably couldn't give, and that the most likely answer was just the demons of his past finally coming home to roast him. But damn it, he didn't care. He was panicking, and somehow nothing else mattered.

In his defence, Tristan's answer was just as much screams and panic as his own. “Hell if I know. They were at the temple too. Something about…a bracelet?” He didn't get another word out before the machine gun fire started again, and they both ducked. Joey's hands had already let go of Tristan's jacket. The temple…Hirutani had been there…He had nearly met him there and he hadn't even know… A cold sick feeling ran through his veins as all he could see and feel for a moment were the frigid, ancient corridors and the surety that those corridors had been so close to becoming the grave for him and his friends. He hardly registered the part about the bracelet.

It was Tristan who saved them this time, as he had so many times before. Grabbing Joey by his shirt, he hauled them both out of the stained glass window, right as the abused door finally gave way, and the madman with the machine gun waltzed in.

They slithered down the sunscreen on the terrace, in a rain of glass and shots and screams, the last ones mostly their own, and landed, rather roughly, on the stone floor of that same terrace. Normally that was one of Joey's favourite places in the whole mansion, but tonight it had lost all of its charm. At least his body was falling into the flight mode of the fight or flight or freeze reactions of panic, and so he could jump the railings alone, almost at the same time as Tristan, before the machine gun man shot down from the window at them.

They just kept running, no breath left for words, around the corner of the house and out of the shooter’s range, arriving at the lane in front of the house just in time to see a black car speed away. Under other circumstances Joey would have rolled his eyes over how cliché the whole set up was, but this time he couldn't even do that. Because as the car drove away a hand lifted aside the red curtains covering its back window, and Hirutani smiled back at him, one hand holding apart the curtain and the other one holding up Yugi, so that Joey could get a good look of his friend’s unconscious face. Then Hirutani let the curtain fall, and the car disappeared.

“Yugi!” He was already running after the car, with Tristan next to him, as his friend suddenly jerked him aside and behind one of the pedestals bearing plinths which decorated the driveway. 

“Look out!” A second black car sped past them, this one full of their red-dressed attackers who still insisted on shooting them. Not like the other car actually needed that cover, since there was no way either Joey or Tristan could have caught up to a car driving at full speed on foot, but it definitely forced them to stop and cover. When they could look up again, both cars were disappearing in the distance, with the storm’s lighting over them oddly fitting.


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

Joey could barely shake the sudden numbness and dread; the realisation that Hirutani had Yugi now, and it was all his dammed fault because Hirutani was after him, and he should have known, he should have fucking remembered that he never went for a direct kill, that he liked to toy with his victims and strike others first. He should have thought about that, damn it, and now Yugi…

“Joey!”

Tea's voice cut through the panicked carousel of his thoughts, and he looked up, hardly seeing her arrive. Jaden barrelled into him, hugging him as tight as he could. Ryou and another shape appeared behind them. Nothing stuck with him. Nothing registered. There was nothing but cold, and fear, and guilt, and the dread of his past engulfing him. At least Tea and Ryou and Jaden were all right, but even that relief hardly cut through his numbness. 

“Wheeler.” A cold, almost familiarly disdainful voice suddenly sounded out sharp as ice. Joey's head snapped up and the fog covering his thoughts disappear. “If you are only going to stand there and weep, you better get out of my way.” It could have been the words, the cold dismissal of Joey breaking down. It could have been the tone. It could have been the whole fucking situation, or maybe all together. Joey didn't know. He only knew that in the next moment he had his hands wrapped around Seth's throat, with a hazy veil of red in front of his eyes.

“Shut up! What the hell are you even doing here?! And who are those other guys?!” He was glaring up at Seth, daring him to say just one word, one dismissing, disdainful word, and he would rip his head off, when suddenly one corner of Seth's lips twicthed up in something which might have been half a smile. 

“Better now?” With those words he almost carelessly swept aside Joey's hands, and brushed off his collar. “Then we can get back to the problem at hand.” Joey shook his head, the red haze of anger still present, but more controlled, less likely to lash out. In truth he almost preferred it that way. Anger was easier to bear than fear. 

“Oh yes, back to the problem. Where the hell have they taken Yugi?” He thought he was sounding remarkably calm for the circumstance, voice tightly pressed but still controlled, but as Seth had the audacity to just shrug, he nearly would have exploded in his face again. Damn it, that idiot had no idea what was at stake and how dangerous the whole situation was. He couldn't just stand there and shrug!

“I have no idea.” For someone who was in danger of getting his head ripped off right now and who had been so adamant about getting back to the situation at hand, Seth sounded remarkably unconcerned. “But.” Before Joey could really punch him this time, Seth let a hand glide into the fold of his clothes and withdrew a picture. He held it out towards Joey and the others, showing a grainy photograph, recently taken. “This man is the leader of the whole operation. Where he is, your friend will be.” 

Joey blinked at the picture. He recognised the man there, standing in the middle of what looked very much like an excavation ground, gesticulating a bit as if he was giving orders. But that was mostly because he had seen him only moments before, in the room with...with him. Admittedly he had been a bit focused on someone else, but he had noticed this man, if only to file him away as just present, and possible also a danger but not important. So that was no help.

Surprisingly Jaden turned out to be the bigger help.

“Hey, I know him!” Unnoticed by them all, Jaden had slithered into their circle, looking intently at the picture. He hadn't talked with that man a lot, or at all, to be honest, but on the frequent trips he had taken to the British Museum, either with Yugi, or one of the others or alone, that man had more often than not been there too, working on something or talking with the curator. “He has something to do with the British Museum; he's always there. And the curator is afraid of him.” So much, that it was almost ridiculous to watch. Jaden had found those scenes amusing when he saw them, but given how afraid the curator really was, he was sure that man could do whatever he wanted in the museum.

A pair of icy blue eyes focused on him, as if they wanted to burn themselves into his head to read his thoughts. “And you are sure?” The tone was as clipped and cold as his eyes, and Jaden nodded, almost offended, at the same moment as Joey snorted. 

“Oh, you can believe that. He spends more time there than at home when we are in London.” Jaden just shrugged. So what about it? He had practically grown up in a museum, thanks to Isis. Even if this one was on a whole different continent, it was still familiar.

Seth’s blue eyes narrowed a fraction, and then the Seth guy nodded. “Then let's go.” He was already turning around as he spoke, and while Joey still rolled his eyes at that, he followed him just like the others. Jaden didn't hesitated before he ran after them. No way he was going to miss whatever happened next, and with those bad guys after the bracelet on his arm, he probably shouldn't stay alone anyway.

They were running towards the car. Joey's mind was still racing, still trying to deal with the old panic which had overwhelmed him back in the mansion, which still threatened to overwhelm him, because fuck it, He was back, he was desperately trying to find something else, anything else to latch onto. In this case, it just happened to be Seth, and the other madness happening at the moment.

“So, let me get this straight.” He almost had to run to keep even with Seth. The guy was in an awful hurry, which Joey honestly could appreciate. “You are here, the bad guys”—he couldn’t even talk about them as a group without seeing Hirutani's grin again, feeling his eyes on him as they had been when he fought his way across the room—“are here, Yugi's been kidnapped”—again his fault, if he had shaken just a bit more of his fear, if he had been able to think at least a bit—“let me guess.” He didn't finish his guess. He didn't need to.

“Yes.” Seth’s tone was short and curt, but the anger in it, this time at least a bit towards himself, was as clear cut as his sword. “The Dark One and his captor have once again been removed from the grave.” He was looking straight ahead, not even glancing into Joey's direction as he spoke, but the lines in his face were tightly drawn. If Joey hadn't been so occupied with his other fear, he probably would have picked that moment to really get afraid. So he was more tempted to laugh. Really? Really? After all they did, after that guy had been buried in that creepy pool and under tons of sand and stone, somebody had still lifted him out of there? Wasn't that hilarious?

“No offence.” Tristan's tone made it clear that he was meaning full offence. “But isn't your job to make sure that doesn't happen? You nearly killed us last time for just staying in the city, and who knows how many you actually killed before, so how did that happen? Did you fall asleep, or what?” 

If looks could kill, Seth’s gaze alone would have been enough for Tristan to keel over, but Joey's friend was made of sterner stuff. And it wasn't Seth who answered first anyway. 

“He was pretty angry in the end.” Ryou's voice was soft, almost thoughtful. “I can imagine that he wouldn’t have rested until he found a way back.” A small smile played across his lips while all heads turned to stare at him, which he hardly seemed to notice. “Given what he is, he could be awfully petty.” For a moment, nobody said a word, and only the howling of the wind broke the silence, till Tea finally spoke. 

“Ok, Ryou, you know I love you, but that was creepy as hell.” 

Ryou lifted his head to blink up at her. “Really?” She nodded, face completely serious, and he smiled. “Sorry. I really didn't notice. But it's true.” He shrugged. “If I remember anything about him, it's that.”

Tristan shook his head. “Ok, fine, Ryou still remembers His Dark Vengefulness. Cool, cool, cool, everything is fine.” 

Seth just turned his head back forward as they reached the car. “It's not only that. The man in the picture.” He let out a breath and for moment—for just a single moment—he almost looked confused, unsettled. It passed in a heartbeat, but given that nothing Zorc had thrown at them two years ago had been able to ignite more in Seth than irritation, that was enough to let Joey's uneasiness grow as big as his panic. Tristan had been right. Cool, cool, cool, everything was fine. 

“He knows things. Things no living person possible could know.” Seth shot a short glance back towards them. “More even than we Medjay. He knew exactly where the Dark One and his captor were buried.” And that should have been impossible. Nobody should have been able to pinpoint that after the whole destruction that took place there. Joey had been there, and he was sure he couldn't tell anyone where to dig. How…

Seth was still talking. “We feared that he would be able to find the bracelet too, which he obviously did. It had been lost since three-thousand years and yet…” He shook his head. “And now they have it.” Joey still had no idea what the deal was about the bracelet, and he wasn't going to start explaining to Seth that it actually had been Yugi who had found the bracelet. Yugi who had had visions about a different time… Yeah, nothing he wanted to think about now. 

But maybe Seth was still right. Tristan had said that he…that Hirutani—damn it, he was capable to think his name, even when not so panicked he could barely think, he could do that—had been at the temple. He was clearly working with the strange man, so maybe he got sent there by him for the bracelet…which just made the whole situation with Yugi's visions even creepier.

“Um.” Jaden's voice sounded a bit sheepish, and his tone, the exact same tone he was using when he had broken something, or did something wrong, made Joey turn around. Jaden was grinning up at them, half proud, half guilty, and every alarm bell in Joey's head was going off. They had reached the car now, and with all of them standing around, and Tristan unlocking it, Jaden tugged at the sleeves of his jacket. “I wouldn't worry about that too much just yet.”

With that he drew up his right sleeve, and presented the bracelet in question, sitting neatly on his arm as if it belonged there. Joey nearly sighed. Of fucking course. What the hell did he expect? Of course the boy had put on the strange, possibly cursed bracelet. There had been a reason Isis had recommended him to them; she clearly recognised a familiar brand of idiocy when she saw it. Either that or they were a bad influence on the boy.

Seth looked even less happy to see the bracelet, but then Joey only recalled seeing him really smiling once, so he shouldn't have expected anything else. “Fantastic.” His voice was a sarcastic drawl. He still grabbed Jaden's arm to look at the bracelet, probably to verify it was the right cursed item. There were so many of them lying around, they probably could get confused. 

Jaden nodded. “When I stuck it on, I saw the pyramids of Giza and then whoosh, straight across the desert to Karnak.” 

Yep, definitely cursed.

Seth was still looking completely unimpressed. “By putting this on you have started a chain reaction that could bring about the next apocalypse.” He dropped Jaden's hand. “Well done.” 

Jaden's eyes widened in fear, and Joey's anger with Seth just grew. Fuck, the boy was still a child, no need to scare him like that. Yes, he made a mistake, but damn it, accidentally starting the apocalypse was easy; they all could attest to that. And other than them, Jaden truly had had no warning. So like hell he was going to let Seth blame him for that.

Joey sighed and pointed at Seth. “You, check your attitude and lighten up. “You.” He pointed at Jaden. “Big trouble.” The boy smiled a bit at that, even if it was still tinted with fear, but that was a win in Joey's book. “You.” Now he pointed at Tea, Tristan and Ryou. “Get in the car.”

It only took them a moment to drive off, with Tristan at the wheel speeding as if their and Yugi's lives depended on it—which it very well might have. Somehow Joey ended up next to Seth and he cursed all his friends for that. And no, he didn't care that Ryou and Jaden were wedged together on his other side. He was still the one next to the angry Medjay leader. Seth at least seemed just as unhappy as Joey with the arrangement, staring straight ahead. Even as he spoke.

“Is starting the apocalypse a hobby for you guys or just a talent?” Yes, Joey was really tempted to hit him. “With the bracelet on this boy’s arm we have only seven days before the Scorpion King awakens.” Joey nearly groaned. Damned, with all this talk about old Zorc and Hamunaptra and not to forget Hirutani, he had almost forgotten about Yugi's Scorpion King. So he was awakening again. Yay. Joey really should have bet on that happening. 

“We? Why do I keep hearing a ‘we?’ Since when are we”—he gesticulated between Seth and everyone else in the car—”included in a common ‘we?’” 

Seth just kept talking as if Joey hadn't said a word at all. “If he's not killed before that, he will raise the army of the underworld.” In front of them Tristan turned his head back to look at them. 

“And doesn’t that sound like a great thing to happen.” Joey smiled at his friend, a smile which felt a bit manic even for himself. 

“Oh he'll wipe out the world.” It was a stab in the dark, but as he had told Yugi, this was how the story always went. Also, Seth didn't bitingly correct him, so it probably was true,

Tristan nodded sagely. “Ah, the old wipe-out-the-world ploy. Been there, done that.” He turned his head back forward on the road, and Tea sighed. 

“I never got why they all want to do that. What's the point?” 

Opposite of her, Ryou shrugged. “Because they can, I think. And…” He was interrupted by Seth. 

“The Dark One is Isfet, Chaos, the darkness before the creation of the world, and the darkness in all of creation. He hates everything he wants back to Nun, the primordial ocean. So he has some reasons at least.” 

For a moment there was silence while they drove, and Joey almost breathed a sigh of relief as they drove by Westminster and Big Ben. It wasn't that far now. Seth must really have been unsettled because he was talking again, and as interesting as this was, Joey was sure he had never heard the Medjay leader talk so much. Why? What was it about the Scorpion King, or their new enemies, that had thrown him off that much? What had shaken somebody who had already proved to be unshakable, and why was the one most set on keeping any outsiders out of his tribe’s knowledge now so willingly sharing it? For some reason that gave Joey an awful feeling. 

“Whoever manages to kill the Scorpion King can send his army back to the underworld. Or use it to destroy mankind and destroy the earth.”

Ryos sighed. “Ah. So that's why they dug him up again.” 

Tristan turned his head again. “Because he's the only one able to take him on? Do they really think he'll help them?” 

Seth shrugged. “Maybe they hope his host will be more helpful. Since he's been able to hold back the Dark One for so long, he might actually stand a chance too.” 

Joey's sigh of relief and resignation echoed as they finally drove up to the museum. Thank god this ride was over. The talk had gotten better and better by the second. He wanted to move again, to fight, to do something other than sit there and listen to the others talk about the possible ways the end of the world might be reached. The Scorpion King, or old Zorc, or maybe even the guy keeping Zorc trapped… Neither of them sounded like a better option. Honestly, Joey could maybe, possibly understand the last one. After a few millennia stuck with Zorc and the ritual Yugi had described, he could imagine getting a little bit resentful towards the rest of the world. Maybe. Didn't mean he had to agree with that.

The storm was still out full force, with rain hitting down around them, and lighting striking across the sky, just as they stopped in front of the museum. Joey just hoped that this wasn't an omen. It was raining so much Joey could hardly see what was happening outside the car windows. Well, it was now or never, the usual English weather be damned. 

Joey took a deep breath, and turned his head to look at Jaden. “Jaden, I've got a very important job for you.” He tried to sound honest and serious, but in truth he wouldn’t have believed those words from himself in a million years. Nobody would, but he still had to say them, if only to make a formal attempt of selling the need to save to Jaden. Though Jaden was already nodding excitedly, so maybe he was believing him for a moment. God, Joey was hating having to crush his hopes. “Stay here and protect the car.”

Jaden's face fell. “Protect the car?” He sounded positively offended, while next to him Ryou looked up. 

“Maybe I could do that. If you don't want to, that is.” Jaden just shot him a short look, and Joey didn't get to answer before Jaden turned back to him.

“Joey, I'm not that stupid.” 

Joey nodded “I know.” And that was the truth, but it was still no reason to let the boy into the museum to face heaven-knows-what was waiting for them. Hirutani probably, which was reason enough to send the boy and everyone else in the car and Yugi as far away as he could, preferably to another country. Hell, if Joey could have justified staying here to himself, he would have. But he couldn't, so he just opened the car door with a sigh. 

Tea shot a smile towards Jaden as she got out too, and Joey turned his head back to Jaden one last time. 

“Oh, and don't worry if someone is running out there screaming, that's just me.” There were mummies at the museum, as far as he remembered. He had a very bad feeling about that.

Outside he blinked towards Ryou. “You know, maybe someone should stay with him.” If only to make sure Jaden didn't try to follow them. And Ryou had volunteered, in a way. 

Ryou nodded. “Yes, I can do that. Sorry.” He shot Joey a weak smile. “Whatever is in there is probably deeply entangled with Zorc and I'm not sure I want to see that just yet.” With that he slid back into the car, and Joey continued on his way to joining Tea, Tristan and Seth at the car's trunk to pick up the weapons. Fucking hell, he could understand Ryou. If at least one person here could skip a rendezvous with the past, Ryou should take the chance.

At least they had learned their lessons from last time. It had the touches of paranoia, but one thing they had done was install a hidden space in the trunk. And since it wasn't paranoia if there really were horrors out to get you, Joey figured they were still all right. Tea and Tristan had already picked their gear, and were busy loading and checking them, so Joey presented, while trying not to look too annoyed by that, their collection to Seth. The Medjay leader was looking down disdainfully at the weapons, but as of now Joey suspected his face might already be frozen into that expression, so he wasn't particularly offended. 

“Do you want the shotgun?” He had to make the offer at least. 

Seth just shook his head. “I prefer the Thompson.” He was already reaching for it, so Joey grunted in acknowledgement, before he busied himself with readying his own gun. Few words meant they would get faster to the rescuing, so for once Seth's constant bad mood was nothing to complain about. The familiar task was almost comforting, a fixed set of steps necessary, and all done so automatically that Joey fell in some kind of trance: being able to stop thinking, to stop panicking for a few seconds and just let his fingers do the work. That calm however wasn't meant to last long.

The clicking noise next to him, Seth readying his own weapon, suddenly stopped, and one word cut through Joey's trance. “No.” Seth’s tone was even harsher than usual, hissing the word more than speaking it and sounding truly angry. Joey looked up, a bit confused as to what had pissed off the Medjay leader now, only to find Seth glaring down at his arm, staring at it as if it had somehow personally offended him. 

“No. Not you.” He was repeating himself again. Joey, now completely confused, followed Seth's gaze to find that what he was glaring at wasn't exactly his arm, but Joey's tattoo. He must have forgotten to wrap it up.

Maybe it was nothing, maybe Seth just found the design extremely tacky or offensive or whatever, but with the way he was looking at it, eyes burning, lips pressed together, something cold twisted in Joey's stomach. That looked…personal. As if Seth knew this tattoo…

Before Joey could say something, such as ask Seth what the hell was wrong with him, the Medjay leader turned his head. He looked straight at the weapons in the trunk and definitely not at Joey, began to speak. “If I…” He interrupted himself, taking a deep breath as if he could barely bring himself to speak. Even as he continued his lips were pressed together, forcing out every word. “If I were to say to you, I'm a stranger travelling from the east...” 

Joey froze. If he wasn't freaked out before about Seth’s behaviour, he was now. He knew those words, had heard them over and over again during that night—a more lyrical, more titling rhythm than Seth's angry recitation. While he had gotten the tattoo, the words had been seared into his mind like the fire into his skin, and even know he could hear himself thinking the words alongside Seth's voice.

“Seeking that which is lost…” Seth trailed off. Pressing his lips together he drew his head up to look directly at Joey, cold blue eyes burning into Joey's own, darning him to either do or not to do something. Automatically Joey found himself replying, finish the rhythm and answering the barely asked question with the growing feeling that he actually had no idea what he was answering in truth. 

“Then I would reply that I'm a stranger travelling from the west. It is I whom you seek.”

Seth was now looking at him with pure disgust and undisguised fury. “How?! How did you get that? How did you know…you can't… Why you?” 

Ok, Joey had no idea what Seth was raving on about now, and fuck it, this was the worst possible moment for angry confusion. Not with Yugi being kidnapped, with someone digging up Zorc, and fucking most of all with Hirutani being back; with all the tattoo was supposed to represent to him being dragged up and thrown into his face again, mixing that night and tonight together in one chaotic maelstrom of panic, the absolutely fucking last thing he needed was Seth knowing something about his tattoo and acting as if Joey had somehow offended him! As if he had any idea what this was about!

With a loud bang Joey threw the trunk shut, and flew around to face Seth again. “Why and how what? I can't what?! The hell are you raving on about?!” 

Seth face was getting angrier every second. “You”—he spit that word out—“have a sacred mark.” Yeah, thank you, that explained absolutely nothing. And sacred? Fucking hell no, that thing couldn't be sacred. 

“Well good news, you are wrong. That thing isn't sacred, that got slapped onto me on the streets of Cairo.” 

That night so long ago when he had decided to leave Hirutani's gang for good. It… He had known that Hirutani was crazy; everyone who interacted with him for five seconds noticed that, and Joey had, more or less voluntarily, gotten closer to him than anyone else. And he had suspected…had known, if he was honest, that Hirutani had killed people before. And he had wanted to get out of that life for a while, for Serenity and Tristan…and for himself. But that night… He could still see the blood running through the sand and dust, dribbling off and getting sucked in by it; saw a pair of sightless eyes look up, still so full of fear; and Hirutani's ecstatic smile… That night had been the turning point. And no matter what Seth said, of how uncomfortable Joey was with his own meaning for the tattoo, how much it still made him question himself, Seth didn't get to define what it meant, and he certainly didn't get to spit on it.

Seth snorted. “Yeah, that sounds likely. Somebody must have lost their mind.” He closed his eyes shortly, before he lifted his right hand and drew down his sleeve to show the exact same tattoo as Joey's. “Normally that mark would declare you a protector of man, a warrior for god. A Medjay. So.” His eyes wandered over Joey, and a sneer hushed over his face. “Clearly there has been a mistake.”

It shouldn’t have stung. It shouldn't have meant anything, that Seth was clearly mortally offended and disgusted by the thought that Joey might have some sort of connection to his tribe. Joey didn't even want that connection; the last thing he needed was being part of the same people who had tried to kill him and his friends, as noble as their reasons for that had been, and as much as he still liked Isis. But somehow it still hurt. Because he clearly wasn't good enough.

Joey lifted up his head, and even managed a sardonic smile. “Good, then we are in agreement. Because I want fuck all to do with you guys.” With that he turned and stalked off towards the entrance of the museum, trying to forget what had just happened and to ignore the pain left behind by that conversation.

Torchlight illuminated one of the big storage rooms of the museum. Its flickering light danced over the crates and chests containing the pieces of the collection not currently on display, over statues and sheets covering them and gangways running around the room, making it all seem a little less real, less like a place where everyday people walked and worked, and more like something out of a dark dream. In the middle of the room, the storage carts and been pushed aside to form a full circle, with two straight paths leading to it on opposite sides. The warriors dressed in red lined up alongside this circle and the two pathways, their deep rhythmic humming filling the air with a threatening sound, mirroring the rhythm of the procession making its way down one of the pathways.

Shadi was leading it, walking slowly past two rows of statues left and right from him, hands folded downwards in front of his stomach, followed by two warriors placing more torches alongside the pathway. Behind them, four warriors followed carrying a wooden platform, on which Yugi lay, still unconscious, head tilted sideways and hands tied with rope in front of him. 

Lightning from the storm flashed through the glass dome above the hall, illuminating the scene briefly. The procession arrived at the circle, the humming never losing its rhythm as they walked along the circle counter clockwise, and the four carriers placed down Yugi's stretcher on an ancient stone altar. They weren't exactly gentle with that, and the sudden jolt stirred Yugi from the darkness enveloping him. He blinked slowly as the warriors scattered off around him to kneel down around the altar. Everything was blurry, hardly more than an interplay of weak light and deep shadows. As he slowly regained his scenes and everything drew sharp while the pounding in his head lessened, Yugi was pretty sure he must be dreaming.

The scene was so ridiculous, so straight out of a horror movie playing with the worst clichés about Egypt. It had to be a dream. People kneeling and throwing themselves down to earth around a stone altar on which he lay, a strange man reading in and conjuring and pathetic tone from a book, oh no not a book, the Book of the Dead… Of course, placed on the back of a man kneeling before him, all of that happening by torchlight and a storm? Please. 

He slowly lifted his head, sure he would wake up any moment now, and making a mental note to not talk with his friends about cursed places like Ahm Shere and Hamunaptra again when it led to this kind of dream. Then he saw something that jolted him straight awake and into the conclusion that, as ridiculous as it was, this scene was no dream. 

Opposite to him, surrounded by another group of warriors kneeling and bowing stood a big, misshapen form looking like some kind of resin or maybe amber. Inside a blurry, dark shape could be seen and even if Yugi could see barely any details—only something which looked like an extremely twisted mummy and something like a smile on the face directly turned to him—he  _ knew. _ He knew who that was. 

“They found him.”

Atem. Somehow they had dug him out of the collapsed city, when Yugi could have sworn that such a feat would have been impossible. Atem and Zorc were meant to finally rest there forever as they should have. And admittedly there was still a possibility that Yugi was wrong. He didn't really have any direct proof that this was actually Atem, but please. Strange and dangerous cult, kidnapping people, chanting something that clearly sounded like a ritual—and he was supposed to think that this was any other mummy than Atem? There couldn't be that many cursed mummies in Egypt, especially not with Seth’s appearance proving Tea's suspicions about Hamunaptra right. No, that had to be Atem, and somebody was clearly trying to wake him up again. Or more likely, wake up Zorc again. Great.

Admittedly, seeing him like this made a shot of pain course through Yugi. Atem had sacrificed himself a second time, and while it had been his choice and frankly the only way, Yugi had always felt bad and a bit guilty about that. And now somebody was dragging him up from his rest again. Anger mixed itself into his pain and Yugi's head shot up, glaring at the people and the ceremony around him. He had to find a way out of here. He had to stop this somehow.

Of course they were walking through the Egyptian section of the museum. It made sense to look for a mad Egyptian cult hell-bent of freeing the incarnation of chaos to fight a cursed ancient warrior to decide who got to end the world, but Joey was uncomfortably aware of both Seth walking a few steps ahead of him, and the many, many mummies which were on display here. The mummies were still motionless, lying as still as…well as the dead, and Yugi and Tristan had dragged him through the mummy rooms many times before, in some kind of—at least on Yugi's part, Tristan still had found these trips incredibly amusing—well-meaning but utterly ineffective kind of therapy against the mummy trauma of Hamunaptra. No chance of that ever working. Joey had always feared mummies, and now he knew why. As harmless as those wrapped bodies looked like at the moment, he was just waiting for them to jump up and attack them. And the lightning outside the window wasn't helping!

Step by step they were advancing, weapons drawn, and between the four of them, nobody said a single word. All of them were tense, nervous, as if they could stumble into a trap at any moment now, and the longer they walked without anything happening, the heavier the atmosphere became. Joey knew that a slow approach was best, that they had to rely on stealth. But every second that passed was another second Yugi was in Hirutani's hands, and that meant he could already be hurt or dead or worse. Joey's mind was helpfully providing him with more and more grisly possible scenarios about what could happen at this moment and no matter what he did, he couldn’t shut down this kaleidoscope of panic.

Yugi was frantically looking around, trying to loosen the ropes tying his hands and feet, but they weren't budging even a single millimetre. Also, the fact that he could now clearly hear the man’s chanting, identify it as early Egyptian and translate it as, at the moment, a more and more urgent and faster repeat of “rise up”, convinced him that he was rapidly running out of time. 

Voices, far away and definitely creepy sounding, drifted through the air and destroyed the silence which had till now engulfed them. Joey gulped. Well, he guessed that meant that they had found their mad cultists. Slowly taking another step forward—even as he had been expecting it, as he had practically been counting down the seconds leading up to it—he still nearly jumped out of his skin as a mummy shot upright from the open sarcophagi right next to him and screeched loud enough to shatter his eardrums.

They jumped away from it, Tea and Tristan to one side, and Joey and Seth to the other. Just as Joey's back hit a glass vitrine, and he raised his gun to take a shot at the flailing mummy, something hit the glass behind him. Another unholy shriek filled the air, muffled by the glass, and Joey jumped back, trying to get away from the mummy now trying to claw its way out from behind the vitrine’s glass to get to them. But there was no place left to escape to anymore, as the whole room filled with shrieks and moans of mummies coming alive, falling and twisting their way out of their sarcophagi and crashing against the glass, twitching the whole time as if they were in unspeakable pain. Joey and the others just shared a short look before they ran.

To his great astonishment it didn't take them long at all to lose those mummies. They were slow, just woken up, and a lot of them were still trapped behind glass. With the labyrinthine way the British Museum was built, after a couple of twists and turns no more mummies could be heard. Instead the chanting and humming filling the air grew louder and louder. Joey was pretty sure he would never be able to find his way back to the entrance, but since that was were the mummies were too, he wasn't all that unhappy about it either.

They entered a gateway running around one of the museum’s storages. The scene in front of them was so cliché and just plainly overdramatic Joey would have laughed if it hadn't been creepy as hell at the same time. Some gigantic blot formed out of a yellowish, slightly transparent material with a dark shape inside stood in the middle of a circle formed by diverse crates. The warrior who had attacked them had throwing themselves down in front of said blot. An Egyptian man dressed in white stood left on the inside of this circle, reading from a book in front of him. His voice lead the chant, and Yugi, still unharmed and clearly conscious, was sitting on a stone altar directly opposite of him to the right, trying to get rid of some ropes tied around his hands and feet. Neither Hirutani nor the man commanding him were inside, which made Joey breathe out a sigh of relief. If he had the choice between mummies and crazy cultists and Hirutani, he would pick the mummies and cultists. Every damn time.

Those damn ropes were not getting loose! Yugi had no idea who hand bound his hands, but whomever he was, both sailors and boy scouts could clearly learn something from him. Biting back another curse, Yugi looked up as the chanting grew louder. While the resin slightly glowing could possibly be chalked up to the torch light illuminating it, the fact that Yugi could now see one of the mummified feet inside the resin begin to twitch and move clearly couldn’t. The mummy inside the raisin was waking up and Yugi had no idea whom to expect. Atem? Or Zorc?

At that moment a still rotting hand broke through the top of the resin, and the chanting abruptly stopped. Yugi froze in the middle of his unsuccessful escape tries and stared. No. No-no-no! That wasn't good. 

Admittedly, he could be glad that he was still alive, as a part of him had expected himself to end up as a human sacrifice to bring either Zorc or the end of the world around again, but if that hadn’t happened yet there was no reason to think that it wouldn't happen later. Zorc at least had been very adamant about sacrificing him last time, and he probably wouldn't be too happy to see him again this time either.

The whole resin-like blob containing the mummy exploded outwards, and the body fell down to the floor, shaking a bit, almost like catching its breath before it lifted its head and rose up. Its back was towards Yugi, so he couldn't get a clear view, but it didn't matter. His heart still stopped, his breath caught, and for a moment he wasn't able to move or think. The storage room and the ritual disappeared around him and he was back in one of the underground corridors in Hamunaptra, surrounded by near-complete darkness and cold, facing a still-rotting mummy walking slowly towards him.

“Atem.” The soft, barely audible word was more like a plea than anything else, a slight prayer to whatever god might just be willing to listen: Seth; Horus; Anubis, the guardian of the underworld; or Osiris, its ruler that whomever was standing there was truly Atem and not Zorc. Because Yugi wasn’t sure if under the current circumstance he would be as lucky encountering Zorc again as he had been last time.

The mummy looked around, slowly turning its head. “What…?” Its voice trailed off, still slightly breathless from the resurrection, and speaking Late Egyptian. And though both Atem and Zorc had spoken that language, a small ray of hope began to grow in Yugi. Because Zorc had never ever been confused about anything.

At that moment somebody stepped out from the shadows between two crates and into the circle, walking straight towards the mummy. Yugi hadn't noticed the man before, walking perfectly assured of himself and upright, and he had never seen him before either. But for a moment a shiver ran down his spine, and a slight wind carrying the warmth and smell of the desert with it flittered around him/ Yugi barely had time to mentally complain that now definitely was the worst possible moment for strange visions because, damn it, the picture in front of him changed.

Instead of the storage room and the chests, he was looking a stone corridor richly decorated with painted reliefs, and the Egyptian man was walking through the wings of a massive stone door. Long, straight, sliver hair fell down his head towards his shoulders, complemented by an equally grey moustache and a short beard on his chin. Deep lines were dug into his face, signs of a long life, and one of his grey eyes was closed from a scar running through it, sealing it shut. He was wearing a beige hood over his face, leading into a beige kaftan, but as simple as the clothing looked, somehow Yugi knew that the man's position normally would allow for far more lavish clothing.

Then the image shimmered, shifting again, and Yugi was looking back at the storage hall illuminated by a lighting flash and the man walking towards him and the mummy, who now looked completely different. Impeccably dressed in a red suit, with short, dark hair streaked with grey and cold, dark eyes, he was, apart from Yugi, the only European in the room. The mummy’s head snapped around towards him, and Yugi could almost swear he saw its body straighten a bit, as the man stopped in front of it, with a cold, triumphant smile on his lips. 

“Uncle.” The mummy’s voice was more cutting than Yugi had every heard it before, and as short as it was, it was enough to make the temperature in the room drop by a few degrees. 

The man's smile just deepened as he answered in the same language. “Nephew. How nice to see you again.”


	6. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

Atem—for Yugi now was sure it was him, because he seriously doubted Zorc ever had an uncle—tilted his head sideways to look at the man. “What are you doing here?” It didn't sound any less hostile than before, and yet the man’s lips just twitched again. 

“So impatient, nephew. And here I thought you'd be happy to see a familiar face again, after all that has happened.” 

A harsh sound rang out, and Yugi needed a moment to realise that this was what laughter with rotting vocal cords sounded light. “‘After all that has happened?’ You would know that best, wouldn't you?”

The man shrugged. “If you say so. But as for why I'm here…” His smile spread into a grin, and a shiver ran down Yugi's spine at that sight. “The year of the scorpion started three months ago, nephew. The last of the five thousand years necessary.” 

Again Atem tilted his head. “I see.” There was something strange in his stone, something Yugi couldn't quite place. Though maybe that irritation was down to the language barrier still in place, he had no idea about any possible meaning the inflections they used could take. There was a slight pause before Atem continued. ”So you are still the same. And what makes you think I would ever help you?” 

Now there was no mistaking the dark amusement in the strange man’s smile. “Nephew, who says that it's your help I want?” 

Joey was looking down on the scene, which was developing more and more into something straight out of his more regular nightmares, and sighed. “You know.” He wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular, mostly just wanting to say something before the strange, prickling feeling that flooded him made way to a full blown panic. Or maybe the resignation had won; maybe he had finally accepted, however reluctantly, that this was now his life: mummies and crazy rituals and all that shit. Fuck, hopefully not. He would never accept that as the new normal. “Two years ago this would have seemed really strange to me.” And then he turned a bit, just to freeze as he finally spotted Hirutani down there.

Hirutani was watching, arms folded over his chest, as Shadi used acid to dissolve the metal connecting the lid of the bracelet’s chest from the rest of it. His fingers thrummed an impatient rhythm, as Shadi looked up and smiled at him. 

“The Dark One will be pleased by this.” What the hell did he care about their Dark One? He just wanted to get this fucking stupid ritual over with so he could get back to his real target. His dog was waiting for him, after all.

Shadi lifted the lid and his face fell as he looked into the chest. Hirutani took a step closer, and bit surprised, lifted a small wooden figure out of it. A human figure holding a long staff, legs spread wide as if he was walking. It looked absolutely worthless even if it seemed to be old; it clearly wasn’t the bracelet that was supposed to be in the chest. 

“So where's your bracelet?” He looked up at Shadi, who threw the lid closed with a thud, and let his hands rest there for a moment, emotionless eyes looking at it without seeing it. 

“I think I know.”

Jaden was bored. There was nothing to do but to sit, and stare at the entrance of the museum, waiting for anything to happen. At least the worst of the storm had passed, with the rain being gone, and only the occasional lightning and thunder in the distance remaining. So he and Ryou had changed their waiting positions to outside of the car, sitting on its hood, with Jaden’s feet drumming a wild rhythm into the car’s side as Ryou told him what he knew about this Scorpion King and his oasis. At least this was interesting, but he still would rather be inside the museum. He needed to know what was happening there!

“And on the very top of the golden pyramid, there was a huge diamond, large enough to reflect the sun and wink at distant travellers, leading them to the oasis.” 

Jaden turned his head. “And certain death?” If the Scorpion King was as nice as everybody said, that seemed to be the most likely outcome. 

Ryou nodded, smiling. “And certain death.”

“Also, nephew.” And again there was his smile and conceited voice; both made Yugi's nerves flare up. God, that man was already unbearable, and he had barely known him for a few minutes. “I might have some...leverage which might get you to reconsider your opinion.” He nodded in Yugi's direction, and Yugi automatically froze as Atem turned towards him. He might have been relieved to deal with Atem, and not Zorc, might even have been happy to see him again, but that didn't mean that he was anything less than horrifying to look at than Zorc had been.

Part of his head was missing, the ragged lines of broken bones showing the hollow inside where the brain had been before the mummification process. Part of his grey flesh had rotted off, leaving brownish torn muscles and sinews. In places where bones were missing, only grimy flesh was visible. The bandages weren’t doing much for hiding the horror. He looked more like Zorc, like the mummy that had stalked Yugi and his friends through Cairo, and who still haunted him in his nightmares. But when he saw Yugi and his eyes widened—even though there weren't any eyeballs left—when the shock on his face was clearly visible, and he took a step forward, every gesture, every reaction was so unlike Zorc, so strangely familiar, that at least a little bit of Yugi’s panic subsided.

The same couldn't be said for Atem himself though. “Heba?”

The shock in his voice was clearly visible, and it took Yugi a second to realise that Atem had called him that before, which meant that he was probably talking to him. So Yugi lifted his bound hands, in a half-greeting way and shot him a bit of an awkward smile. 

“Hi.” For a second he was sure the corner of Atem's lips twitched, even if he was staring at Yugi like he couldn't believe what he saw. Which was ok; Yugi still had trouble taking in the whole situation himself. As he admitted, not the best situation to meet again. And he was himself annoyed to find himself bound on an altar again. But the situation was still better than the last time they had met, so he was keeping his complaints to a minimum. 

“You can cooperate, or…” Atem's uncle raised his hands and snipped his fingers, and the men kneeling around Yugi's altar rose up to lift the platform he was still sitting on. Which meant that he got a very good look at the hellishly-hot fire burning in a sarcophagus, which he somehow had missed till now. “Or we put him in his grave.” Really, that was what they were going with in terms of threats? Really?! If Yugi hadn't been staring a fiery death in the face, he probably would have asked how many clichés they were planning to tick off. Because they were accumulating quite a list, and Yugi barely had known them for half an hour. 

“You bastar…” His curse got cut short as the whole room suddenly exploded into chaos.

Someone, who Yugi only at a second glance recognised at Joey, jumped through the flames, knocking directly into one of the guys carrying the platform, and threw the whole thing out of balance. At the same moment Yugi felt something move in the air, saw something dark, just out of the corner of his eye, and in the next second, the warrior Joey hand knocked out was thrown away from his platform. The ropes around Yugi’s hands and feet fell away as if they had never been there at all. Yugi lost no moment, finally jumping off the platform, and joining the fray.

Joey was locked in a fight with one of the warriors, and Yugi saw Tristan there too, knocking out another one. Atem was standing in the middle of the circle, hands lifted, and something red glowed in his eyes. With every movement of his hands, something whirled through the room, taking out soldiers left and right. On top of that there was the machine gun fire coming from the walkways above, where Yugi caught a glance at Seth rather liberally taking out pretty much anyone Atem, Joey and Tristan didn't deal with. Tea was working a little bit more precisely and sniper-like. It was chaos, and while Yugi grabbed a weapon from one of the fallen soldiers on the floor to block an attack headed his way, he was already turning his head, looking for the fastest way out of here. That gunfire would definitely draw attention, and he couldn't be sure it would be the friendly sort.

The sounds of gunfire and battle coming from the museum filled the air. Ryou and Jaden just needed one glance at each other before they hastened off the hood and tried to get back in the car, Ryou on the driver’s side, and Jaden to the passenger side. Whatever was going down in there, if… When their friends were coming out, they would probably need a getaway car then and there. Only the door didn't open. 

“Open, it, open it!” Jaden maybe sounded a bit too panicked, but then he didn't think gunfire was that good of a sign. And while Ryou was busy jamming the key into the car’s lock, Jaden could clearly see that Ryou’s hand was shaking so it wasn't like anyone was calm about their circumstances. 

“I'm trying!” Yeah, no, he definitely wasn't calm.

Shadi looked up, his eyes catching Seth up there, and with one smooth gesture he grabbed one of the guns lying on the floor, lifted it up, and shot straight at him. Seth dove around the corner, dodging the hail of gunfire coming at him. He hastily reloaded his own weapon. Whatever happened, Shadi was the last one he would allow himself to be killed by. Not this traitor.

Across the room Joey saw Yugi moving around freely and handling his own enemies surprisingly well. He and Tristan had taught him a few tricks; after that disaster in Egypt it had only seemed reasonable, but when the hell had Yugi actually learned to fight? Two years ago he barely had been able to throw a punch, and now this? When did that happen, and why had Yugi not told them about it? 

Yugi was turning again, and Joey's saw him coming up to the mummy guy in the middle of the room, shouting something at him. Joey couldn't understand a single word, and when the mummy actually nodded, he gave up trying. Yugi was talking with mummies now too. Cool. The whole world was going crazy anyway; he could save the freak-out for when they weren't fighting for their lives. But he would definitely talk with Yugi about that because that fucking mummy looked fucking familiar, and if that was actually Zorc then Joey had a complaint all ready. Also, it still was a fucking mummy!

However, just as he was about to turn to Tristan to check how he was, someone stepped in his way, and the click of a gun being loaded made him stop. Looking up past the barrel, his eyes directly crossed Hirutani's, prompting a smile on the gang leader’s face. 

“You certainly haven’t lost your talent for a fight. But your rebelliousness is getting annoying.”

They had finally made it into the car, somehow, and Ryou was turning the key around, trying to ignite it, when an awful crack filled the air. It wasn’t particularly loud, but it still managed to capture their attentions. Stunned, Ryou and Jaden looked at the half of the broken key left in Ryou's hand. 

“You broke it!” It sounded maybe just a bit more accusing than Jaden had intended, and Ryou screamed right back. 

“It broke itself; I just turned it. And stop screaming! if anyone here screams, it's going to be me!” With that, he hit the steering wheel in frustration. They needed a way out—and fast. This was bad.

Yugi had now finally reached Atem, and he was also reasonably sure he had found a way out. Catching Atem's eye he nodded at him, and when Atem nodded back, he lifted his gun, just as another rain of bullets started down on them. They didn't even got close before whatever shadowy thing Atem had commanded plucked them out of the air, deflecting them right back at their attackers. Yugi kept shooting too, and together they drew back in the direction where he had last seen Joey and Tristan.

Some of Yugi's shots really found their marks, and the boxes behind their attackers, already pretty damaged by Atem's attack and all the bullets flying around left and right, and from a nice ignitable formaldehyde, went up in flames like he had put a matchstick to it. Which meant that their attackers too got turned into human torches.

Turning his head, Yugi finally caught Tristan’s eye. “Up there!” He had to scream to be heard over the commotion happening around them. “The stairs!” Tristan’s eyes widened as he saw Atem, but he nodded, and started to run towards the direction Yugi was indicating. 

“Where's Joey?” At Tristan’s question Yugi shrugged.

“I can't see him.” But he would keep looking.

Seth was taking aim, and few more formaldehyde chests exploded, the blast knocking down more of the warriors, and thankfully also throwing Shadi off his feet. Even if he almost immediately started to push himself up again, it gave Seth a short break. Some movement in the back of the room caught his eye, and he lifted his weapon, only to look straight at Joey, standing there as if he was frozen.

He was standing opposite of the blond man, and despite having a gun pointed directly at his face, something about his posture, about his stillness struck Seth wrong. He was still barely able to look at him without seeing the tattoo on his hand glaring up at him: the sign of his tribe, his people, passed down for centuries from one generation of warriors to the other, on a European. On the hands of somebody who had no idea what it meant, what it stood for; the history behind it, someone whose people had come into Seth's land, and taken it as if it was a curious trinket on the wayside; who had dug and turned up the memories of their history, of who they were and shipped them out of the country as if they were theirs to take, to place them into their museums and homes and marvel at them as if they had been made for their entertainment only. Who tore mummies from their resting places, stealing from them their eternal rest and disturbing their souls so that they lost their afterlife. Who had forced the people of Egypt to work their farms for their cotton, so that the land which had once been the granary of the Mediterranean had to import more and more grain to just try and keep its people fed while more and more of them fell into poverty and hunger and despair. Officially they had no control over Egypt now, with their troops drawn back to Suez and an Egyptian King on the throne, but everybody knew who really ran the country still.

And now one of those Europeans wore the greatest sign on honour his tribe could bestow as if it was a pretty decoration.

Someone who had already trespassed where he shouldn't walk, who had together with his friends disturbed hallowed ground before and brought down the consequences on the whole world. But they had stayed and tried to right the mess they had created, and Seth, as much as it pained him, could respect that. Could respect  _ them. _ But that didn't make the tattoo better. Not like this, not on a night like this. Not when Shadi had shown up again, had reminded him again just what exactly he had always thought about Seth's leadership, and while the opinion of a traitor was worth less than nothing, Seth had failed. He hadn't been able to keep Hamunaptra safe twice. The Dark One had risen under his watch, and now the holy city had been dug up and desecrated again, its keeper torn from the land and dragged back to life again—and Seth had been just as powerless to stop it as before. He was failing and now seeing a Brit wear that tattoo was another failure. Because he couldn't even keep the traditions of his own tribe from being dragged through the mud.

So he still couldn't look at Joey without a wave of anger, of failure and pain ripping through him, but he also still remembered that night in Hamunaptra when Joey looked him straight in the eye and lifted that burning dynamite stick, ready to blow both himself and Seth and everyone else to the underworld. He had been afraid, Seth had clearly seen that, had seen how his hand shook, had seen the fear in his eyes. But there also had been determination and stubborn will to live, not just to surrender. Seth had spared him and the others that night, and while he still wasn't sure if that had been a mistake, he couldn't forget that determination. So where was it now?

Where was the will to fight? The anger in the face of death? Joey had looked him and his warriors in the eye, and dared them to kill him. He had faced down the Dark One and lived, and on neither occasion had he ever backed down, or been anything but ready to fight. So why did it now look like he was frozen in fear, like all fight had left him? Like he was surrendering?

He didn't hesitate before lifting his weapon and aiming. The shot wasn't perfect, but it was sufficient. The weapon flew straight out of the hand of the guy threatening Joey. Seth was already back under cover when the man’s head flew up. From now on, Joey had to fend for himself. It was time to get out of here.

The bullet came straight out of nowhere. One second Hirutani had the gun aimed at him, finger on the trigger and ready to pull. And in the next moment it was clattering along the floor and Hirutani cursed while clutching his hand. There was hardly a second between those two moments, but in this short time, something inside Joey flickered alive again. As if the shot had been a signal, a wake-up call. He threw himself around and ran, disappearing behind the crates, trying to both lose Hirutani and find his friends. Maybe he was running again—from his past, from the very things he heard about himself, about Hirutani, about everything that happened. But fuck, if that made him a coward, so be it. He would not, could not, have that confrontation here. First, they all had to survive and get out of  _ this _ mess before Joey would even think about trying to clean up  _ that _ mess. It had hounded him most of his life; it could wait a few hours, days, whatever more.

Two turns later, and just as he was sure he had gotten lost in the chaos, he barrelled out of the labyrinth of crates, and almost straight into Yugi. Somehow they both managed not to land on the floor. Yugi was alive, and Tristan behind him too, his smile frozen on his face. Because the mummy standing behind Yugi looked very familiar.

His mouth opened, even as it felt like ice water flowed through his veins. He had seen the mummy moving from above, had seen that good old Zorc was back, had seen Yugi talking to him. Somehow this felt all the more real, maybe because it was so close Joey could see every familiar, rotten detail. But before he could scream at Yugi and ask him if he knew that Zorc was behind him, his friend had already grabbed his hand and dragged him along. 

“I'll explain later! We need to move!” And seeing that Tristan was also running, Joey gave in and started to run too, mouth snapping shut. Whatever. This day way already turning more and more into his personal nightmare. So Zorc was coming with them now too. Good, fine, made just as much sense as anything else.

Yugi was running up the stairs still clutching Joey's arm, very aware about the chaos still unravelling underneath them. Atem was moving almost soundlessly just a few steps behind him. He would have a lot to explain to the others, and he had a lot of questions himself. But none of that mattered at the moment. First they had to get out of here, preferably in one piece. And given that he heard some loud, angry chanting behind him, catching only something about gathering limbs and shaking the earth from someone’s flesh, they needed to move fast.

They ran into Tea and Seth on top of the walkway, but Yugi had no time for more than a quick, relieved smile. Because now he could see what was going on down below, and thus had a great view of the moment when Atem's uncle—who clearly had been behind the angry chanting he had heard—tore off the lid of something that, with all the distance between Yugi and the object which threw any off his observations into question, looked like a canopic jar. A storm of dust broke free from it and jumped down to form four pillars that slowly crystallized into some familiar-looking mummies. 

Next to him he could hear Tristan mutter, “Not these guys again.” 

Oh he recognised them all right. He recognised them very well. After all those bastards had nearly killed him during that final fight in Hamunaptra, when they weren't too busy chasing him around, at least until Joey had wrestled control over them away from Zorc and told them to stop. A short glance at both his friend, clearly so done with that whole day, and the mummy, whose hands gripped the railing so tightly the metal was bending, Tristan hazarded a guess that neither of them were doing the controlling now. Just as expected. They never had that much luck.

Which meant that they were running again. 

Somewhere behind them, Tristan could hear someone shout, but he didn't catch even a single word. Not that he needed too—it was pretty clear what this would boil down to. Something like killing them, presumably. The sound after that however, that loud multi-voiced groaning, that he recognised. He could almost see the mummy soldiers before him, see how they unlocked their jaws and let them fall down to release that unholy noise. They had screamed at him often enough after all. It was the preferred soundtrack of his nightmares.

In the car, Ryou and Jaden shared a look. The sound seemed to come from everywhere at once, louder than it had any right to be. For one second Ryou's hands tightened around the steering wheel. “The warrior priests.” Oh, his old lodger really was still irritated after what happened last time. Good. Well, not so much for him and his friends, but generally he was not upset about the idea of something irritating Zorc.

Throwing the car doors open, he and Jaden jumped out. “Ok, what are we going to do…?” They needed something to get away, and they needed it ideally half an hour ago. 

Jaden shot him and incredulous look. “Why are you asking me? I'm only fifteen—you're the adult here!” That was both true and an incredibly unhelpful fact. Because most of the time Ryou didn't really feel like an adult at all. Too bad that life never cared about how ready you felt for your responsibilities. 

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, before he opened them again. “Ok, I've got an idea.” While he definitely hadn't meant to, his lodger had left some talents behind when he had finally been driven out of Ryou. It wasn't much and it had taken him a while to catch on but now might have been the best possible time to cash in on the long overdue rent. “We are going to borrow something.”

Cold night air clashed against Yugi's face and lungs as the doors in front of them flew open, and he and his friends stumbled out. He hadn’t even realised how stifling the air in the museum had been, not until he could smell the remains of rain still left in the air, could feel the last traces of the still-withdrawing storm on his skin. It was cold, and it was dark, and it felt absolutely wonderful. And he had no time to enjoy it.

His friends were already running ahead of him, and he took a couple of steps too, before he hesitated. Somehow it felt wrong to leave the door thrown wide open behind them. That was making it way too easy for their pursuers.

He threw himself around and banged the doors shut. He turned aside and grabbed the wooden bench standing next to it. Maybe he could use it as a blockade… He had only managed to move it maybe half a meter when a voice behind him called out. 

“Heba? What are you doing?” Atem actually sounded confused, and Yugi's head shot up automatically.

The mummy was saying something, and for the life of him Joey couldn't understand a word. It was probably some kind of Egyptian, and probably if he had a couple of hours time, something with which to write, a dictionary, and a grammar book, and maybe if the mummy repeated himself very slowly letter by letter, he could try and understand it. Too bad he had neither the time nor the motivation. 

Joey threw his head back, ready to barge at him that if he wanted to come he should stop talking or at least use some language they could communally understand; and he didn’t care how impossible that was, he didn't even want a mummy around, especially not this mummy, thank you, when he saw what the mummy was looking at Yugi. Dragging a bench in front of the door as if that could stop anyone. Well, suddenly Joey knew exactly what the mummy had said. Especially when it turned around and grabbed Yugi's hand. 

“Come on! Those guys don't use doors!” Under normal circumstances that would actually be good thinking, but those weren't exactly normal times. Otherwise he would have already voiced any objections he had about a mummy being that close to them, and especially close to Yugi.

He was so relieved when the mummy let go of Yugi so that they both could run better, and even more so when they finally reached the front of the museum where the car was waiting. But sadly it was only the car. 

“Where are Ryou and Jaden?” Tea was looking around hectically. Joey could only shrug, feeling a new wave of panic rise in him. The bad guys had been inside with them; there was no way anything could have happened to their friends. Nobody would miss that ritual; that wasn't how those kind of freaky cults worked. But still there was this nagging thought in his head that some people had been missing. Namely, Hirutani's underlings… what if…

At that moment the sound of a driving car could be heard, and Joey watched, blinking, as a red double-decker bus, like the ones that drove around London every day, turned towards them, and stopped right in front of them. Ryou was driving and Jaden was waving from the front window. 

“Get in!” 

Well, that…actually fit in with how the rest of the day had been going so far. A bus. Ryou had taken a fucking bus. Of course.

His friends were already boarding, and yet Joey couldn't help himself. He stopped shortly in front of Ryou's window. It was disconcerting that he had to look up towards him now; usually Ryou wasn't that much taller than Yugi. “What's wrong with the car?” He wasn't sure he actually wanted an answer. 

Ryou just smiled innocently at him. “Circumstances forced me to find an…alternative means of transportation.” That didn't answer anything at all. 

“Yes, but a double-decker bus?! You didn't find anything that could attract more attention?!” 

Without missing a beat Ryou pointed towards Jaden. “It was his idea!” 

Jaden shot him an offended look. “Was not!” 

“Was too!” 

Joey interrupted their undoubtedly fascinating discussion: “Never mind, just go!” The mummies and whatever else was behind them could appear any time soon. 

He sprinted along the way to the long bus, and just managed to jump onto the entrance point before Ryou drove off, which gave him a very good look at the moment the mummy warriors brook through the museum walls. Exactly left and right from the door which Yugi had thought to blockade. There were exactly four of them, and they wasted no time sprinting after the bus, no matter what was in their way. Or at least they were highly selective, since two of them did jump over the stud blocking the road, while the other two just ran carelessly over the car, crushing it beneath them without even trying to avoid it. Anger shot through Joey at that sight. Oh, that stupid bolt was worth taking care of, but not that car? That had been expensive, damn it!

Ryou swerved to the left to avoid another car—some other madman being out at this hour—and Joey was thrown back inside the bus, directly next to Seth. He was barely shooting him a glance before he turned his head back to their pursuers. At the moment he rather would have taken the mummies than look at Seth ever again. It still felt like punch straight through the gut, their last conversation still replaying in his head. Though that didn't mean he actually liked the mummies…

“God, I hate mummies.” Joey had hardly meant anything he said in his life as much as he meant those few rushed out, heartfelt words. Then he remembered something and turned his head towards the mummy which was in the bus with them now. “Ahh…present company not exactly excluded… I'm still not sure what you are doing here.” The mummy was just looking at him, cocking its head sideways as if it was thinking about something, which, given that Joey could see exactly how this movement played and strained the rotten muscles and sinews in its neck, was honestly nauseating. But there was no answer. Joey belatedly realised that the mummy probably understood as much of what he said as he did with it. Great, that was making everything easier.

He was turning back to the road, and the mummies currently trying to kill them, only to notice that they had gained ground. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the ghost of one of those arrogant smiles flitter around Seth’s lips. That it was only a hint and not a full-fledged I'm-so-much-better-than-you-could-ever-hope-to-be-smile, was the most surprising thing about that. 

“Are you glad that I'm here now?” With the way Seth spoke, the way he was still looking at the road and not even at Joey, as if he wasn’t even worth that much attention, mad it perfectly clear that he knew exactly what Joey thought about him now. 

Joey growled. “Just like old times.” And he wasn't meaning the last fight—that mad, desperate chase through Cairo, the flight from the museum or even that one moment when Seth had nearly given him a heart attack by turning up alive when he should have been that. No, no matter how it hurt, Joey wasn't glad to see him. He was as glad to see him as he had been on the boat, on the night Seth and his men had tried to kill them all in Hamunaptra. Those were the only ‘old times’ between them, and Joey remembered them well.

Seth froze, as if he had heard something in Joey's tone. Joey could almost believe he would turn his head towards him, look at him again and shoot back his own biting answer. But then Seth just raised his weapon to aim at the approaching mummies as if Joey hadn't said a word. 

Without a further word, Joey spun around and hastened up the stairs, trying to get a better aim on the pursuing undead. And trying to get as far away from Seth as was currently possible and to ignore the sudden pain shooting through every nerve of his body. It didn't matter. Whatever this bloody arrogant idiot thought about him, it didn't matter.

He aimed at one of the running mummies, the second from the right, and it was so satisfying to see it stumble when it took a hit. Joey aimed again, and the second mummy he shot at, hitting the shoulder, actually went down—only to do a somersault and get back on its legs without ever stopping its run. Joey bit back a curse. Damn it, they clearly hadn’t lost their indestructability. Or they inexplicable talent to do acrobatics without falling apart.

Which they now had to prove, of course, by splitting up, two left and two right. They grabbed the lampposts on the side of the streets and used them to hurl themselves on the walls of the buildings lining the street, so that they could pursue the bus by running sideways on all fours along said buildings. And Joey had honestly thought they couldn't get any creepier. This was so much worse than in his memory.

And now they were jumping from column to column too.. Joey watched in barely contained horror, hands shaking, when one of them jumped away from the column, and he realised, almost too late, was heading straight towards him.

He lifted his gun and fired, plucking the most terrifying grasshopper which ever existed right out of the air, only for the next one to dive a bit lower and dodge his shots and hurl itself into the lower level of the bus.

The moment the priest-warrior appeared in the door and screamed at him with unlocked jaws, Seth open-fired. At the sound Yugi, who had been watching their drive through the front window with Jaden, jumped around, just as Atem twisted his head back to look at the mummy too. The sound was the only warning they had before the other mummies leapt into the bus. One jumped through the window at their side, just to be dragged back by the same shadowy tendrils Yugi had seen in the museum. Atem had raised his hand.

Upstairs Joey was busy reloading as fast as he could while two loud bangs and the troubling, deep indentures on the roof made it clear that the mummy reinforcements had arrived. Bute even as he took his aim and shot, he knew that it was useless. The bullet tore through the roof all right, but it didn't hit anything else.

Seth took a short breath as the mummy he had fought fell back, torn in two by his bullets. But in the short second it took him to reload, it was back again, even if it was only the upper half, torso and head and arms, looking, as far as that was possible, even angrier than before. It grabbed him before he could react, and he found himself being thrown against the window and back again to the other side, left and right as if he was a ball in the mummy’s game. He dodged, just as it made another grab at him and climbed to his feet. The mummy’s torso advanced at him, moving by grasping the upper rails with its hands and hurling itself forward. Seconds before it reached him, shadows burst through the window, now throwing the mummy back, but tearing off one of its arms in the process as if it was made of wet paper. Seth didn't need to turn his head to know who was responsible for that. Shadow magic left only one conclusion.

If anything, Joey's attacks had just made it easier for the mummy. It was tearing open the metallic roof, its fingers using the bullets holes to get a better grip, like a cat scratching for some particularly tasty food. The mummy dropped down behind Joey, grasping him by the neck. Joey lifted the gun, only to drop it. He fell down, able to shake the mummy off, but the gun had already slithered down the alley, resting far out of his reach. At least it hadn’t fallen down somewhere yet.

He crawled forward, trying to reach it, when something cold and definitely way too rotten and dry-feeling grasped his belt and tore him backwards, just as he had been millimetres from reaching his weapon again. Joey had to fight off the bile rising in his throat, and it didn't matter that it had been hours since he had last eaten anything that day; he was sure his stomach could find something to throw up. Especially as the mummy now tossed him against the roof like a softball and let him crash back to the floor. And repeated that act. Again. And again.

The bus was hurling through the night, Ryou doing a remarkable job at keeping his eyes on the road and the bus in the correct lane with all hell breaking loose behind him. 

Seth's eyes widened as the torso rose again, dragging itself up against one of the seats and glaring at him as if the whole fight had just turned personal. It raised one of its hands and its nails grew longer and sharper until it had a small dagger on each finger. That was definitely something they hadn’t done back in Hamunaptra. Maybe they had learned a couple of new tricks in the meantime.

Seth barely had time to dodge when the mummy lunged at him, nails tearing through his clothes and leaving small gashes on his skin that rapidly filled with blood. Behind himself he could hear Yugi screaming something to Ryou, and then the whole bus swerved abruptly, throwing him, the mummy and the captor off their feet. The mummy flailed around left and right, but that was a small blessing when he could barely keep himself upright and actually had to flinch back when a street lantern hit the side of the bus, almost directly where his head was.

A shot rang out, missing its target once. Tristan took aim again. He didn't get a chance for a second sho because another mummy chose this exact moment to crash through one of the windows in the bus, clawing its hands into Tristan’s shoulder and his weapon, and dragging him down to the floor.

The mummy was again screaming at him. Yes, it still looked horrible, and creepy as hell, especially while it was grasping his neck, clearly intending to choke him. Joey got a delightful direct hit with the stench of a couple of thousand years of rotting flesh and whatever this guy had stuck between his teeth when he died. That breath alone could be weaponised. Still, Joey nearly rolled his eyes. Really, that old trick again? Couldn't they think about something new for once?

The bus swerved again, and with the mummy loosening its grip and getting thrown against the window, Joey got a good look at the car weaving away from them, probably the same one Ryou had just turned into rubber balls to avoid, honking angrily at them. That lucky bastard had no idea what was going on; Joey almost envied that level of ignorance.

Falling down to the floor again, he caught sight of his gun directly in front of him. Now or never. Jumping to his knees, he made a run for it again. He leapt forward and almost cried in relief when his hands tightened around the cool, familiar weapon. 

Payback time.

It was getting worse. His shadows flew through his control as easily as they always had—old friends, and some of them the only comfort he had had through all those…he didn't even know how long it was. Centuries? Millenniums? Even longer? Not that it mattered anyway. But as easy as the shadows came to him, so did the danger they presented now. 

Every time he lifted his hand, every time he used even the slightest bit of magic and lifted his concentration for even a second to focus on something else, Atem could feel  _ him _ stirring in his mind. Watching, waiting, testing for the slightest crack to slip through and take control. Shadow magic was pretty much the only magic he could safely try, since it was so much a part of him that it hardly required any thought or energy, both of which he couldn't afford to waste. But he had already used a few spells during their flight, and with every one he did he felt him getting more and more restless.

And the last thing he or anyone else on this…strange and frankly frightful transport needed was him breaking loose. He couldn't fail. It was the same mantra he had repeated over and over again during the endless time he had been trapped with him. He could not fail. One mistake was enough, and he didn't know if he could recapture him again if he broke loose. The last time he hadn't been able too, and even if the circumstances were slightly different now, if he was slightly weakened Atem couldn't risk it. He was disoriented; the world in which he didn't belong any more was so much faster, so confusing to him, and with his uncle back… He still didn't understand what happened, not fully. He shouldn't have woken up again. But he had, and he had woken with him too, just like his uncle had wanted. Everything together meant that Atem was currently weaker than he should have been, more unsure about everything, and that gave him quite an edge.

Any mistake he made, the world would pay for it, and the people on this bus—Heba, his friends, the very people who had taken down him before when Atem first had failed—would be the first to go. And as angry as he was with them, he would take his time. So Atem could not fail again. And that meant he had to limit himself to just the smallest spells, to stand there and watch as the warriors fought his own battle, barely able to help him a little bit here and there. It tore against everything he had ever done and believed in.

The bus swerved again, and the gun Joey had just a moment before gripped triumphantly slipped between his fingers and through a crack in the floor. He heard the clang when it landed on the hood of the bus, and for a moment he just stared after it, and then at his hands, unable to believe what had happened now. Seriously? His luck was that bad today?

Tristan cursed as he grappled with the mummy, trying to throw it off. That damned thing was stronger than it had any right to be, and its determination to get the gun was irritating. With one last show of strength he pushed against it, throwing it off directly towards Tea, who without hesitation, raised one of the grappling bars which had been torn down in the chaos and hit the mummies head straight off. It stumbled backwards, against the very window it had come through, and disappeared into the night.

Yugi turned back to the window as with a clatter a gun dropped right there in front of him. He lifted his head, hesitating for a moment as he glanced back to the fight. Atem's shadowy …things were again restraining the mummy, catching it right before its one remaining arm could descend into Seth's shoulder or chest again. Even as it thrashed and fought it was held right there in the air, as if it was frozen in mid-flight. A perfect target.

Without hesitating Yugi leaned forward, through the halfway open window shield, and grabbed the gun. A second later he was already aiming, and the bullets tore straight through the mummy, ripping it to shreds. Tea finished it off at last, grasping one of the seat's backrests which had been torn down in the commotion and with a direct hit send the mummy pieces flying through the already cracked rear window.

The mummy was again screaming at him with the unhinged jaw. They really did not know how to do anything else. So Joey, again caught by the throat by the mummy, did the simple thing and just punched it directly into said damned jaw. Its head flew sideways, but seconds later it was back, with the same open mouthed screech. So Joey punched it again.

And then, crunching his face in disgust, Joey took a deep breath and plunged his fingers into the mummy’s eyeballs. They came loose with disgusting ease, accompanied by just slight tearing sound, and as the mummy screamed, hopefully in pain, if they even could feel something like that. Joey hastily shook his hand to throw off the rotten eyeballs stuck to them. Fuck, no amount of hand wash was every going to be enough to wash that feeling off.

He looked up again, just in time to catch a glimpse through the already broken window to what was lying ahead. His eyes widened and he cursed mentally. Fuck, this was going to be bad. Gasping for air through the mummy’s grip, he tightened his hand into a fist, and laid everything he had into this right hook, throwing himself backwards, just as his fist collided with the mummy’s face. Its head flew back, though sadly not off its shoulders, and Joey felt its fingers loosening and his body fall to the floor. He stifled back a groan as he landed, and pressed himself flat down on his stomach, hands wrapped around his head to cover it from any potential damage. This was so going to suck.

He felt the mummy staggering around above him, and for a moment he could swear he heard something like a shocked or maybe even scared groan from it, probably as it saw the same thing Joey had caught earlier: a concrete wall directly on their level with the words “LOW BRIDGE” written in bold, dark letters.

But by then it was already too late as a loud crack heralded the beginning of an inferno. Glass and metal, and everything that made up the upper level of the bus flew around, crashing and straining, so loud that Joey's ears almost burst. Debris rained down on him; it felt like he was stuck in the middle of either an explosion or a thunderstorm, unable to move and breathe. He was hit from all sides at once, so fast he could hardly see or feel what exactly hit him. He could do nothing but press his head down, squeeze his eyes shut and hope that it would be enough to save his life.

It probably didn't take more than a couple of seconds, but it felt like an eternity. When the plastic seats got torn asunder around him, Joey was pretty sure that this was the end for him too. But then it was over, as fast as it started, and Joey could hear and feel nothing anymore but the cold wind of the London night air hurling over him.

He sat up, having to throw off debris and one or three completely crushed seats from his back. Almost the entire upper level of the bus had been destroyed but…but the mummy was gone, probably a much mourned victim of that unexpected bridge, and he was still alive, even if every bone and muscle in his body hurt. He was standing, riding on top of an open bus directly over Tower Bridge and it felt glorious. 

He laughed, throwing his head back, and for a moment nothing seemed to matter. Not Hirutani; not that the world was ending again, that they were again caught up in this whole mystical shit and resurrected mummies trouble; and not even that bastard Seth. For one moment he could almost believe everything would be all right again. And then he remembered that he probably should get downstairs to check on the others, and before any creative driving Ryou might be forced to employ would throw him off the bus. That would a thoroughly embarrassing end for this night. Tristan would never let him live that down.

Ryou carefully maneuvered the bus to the side of the road and let it slowly roll to a stop. He was out of breath, every muscle in his body shakened, and somehow it seemed impossible to lift his hands from the steering wheel by how tightly they were clutching it. He couldn't even turn his head to see who was still left standing in the chaos he had heard behind him. 

A hand laid down in his shoulder and he didn't even have the energy to flinch. 

“You know, as suicidal as that trip was, that wasn't even half-bad driving.” Tristan was grinning down at him; he could see him just barely out of the corner of his eye, but he still could do nothing but stare straight ahead, even as he heard Jaden too. 

“Not bad?! That was amazing! Can we do that again?” 

That was when Ryou stopped his automatic nodding. “No. No we are not doing that again.” Oh dear god no, he wasn't going through that again. Not when he had hardly any idea how they all were still alive in the first place.

He slowly stood up, legs still shaking, and as he finally managed to pry his fingers loose, he turned back towards the others, to do a quick head count. Yugi and Tea, standing in the middle of the gangway between the seats, a bit shaken but alive; Jaden, grinning from one ear to the other and clearly the only on the bus having any fun, and also definitely fine; the pharaoh who was holding Ryou's old lodger down, and doing a relatively good job with that too, also standing near the gangway, and as ok as he could be given his mummified state; Tristan standing behind him, also a bit shaken, but ok, and just like Ryou himself also letting his eyes drift over the group, with a wrinkle appearing beneath his brows; the Medjay leader, leaning half on the floor and half on the seats, out of breath, with the most wounds of all of them, but definitely alive and Ryou was almost sure he could see something like a grin on his face; and Joey… Joey was barging down the stairs from the upper level in nearly as much a dishevelled state as the Medjay leader, but also walking and alive. 

And no mummies left standing, apart from the one currently not attacking them. So, not a bad result all in all.

Joey looked through the ruins of the bus to his friends and breathed out a sigh of relief. Everyone seemed all right, and Yugi was even holding his gun, so maybe that damned thing had been of some use to someone. He nodded in their vague direction. “Everyone alright?”

Of course Seth was the one who answered first, head turning slowly towards him, that arrogant smile back on his face. Exactly the person Joey had been careful not to address and not even look at. “That was my first bus ride.” Bastard always had to have either the first or last word, preferably both. Though for a first bus ride that certainly was memorial… No, stop, Joey was not going to react to any half-jokes he might have ready. Not after everything that had happened. Also, there was a bigger elephant in the room to focus on right now. Or was that mummy on the bus in that case? Either way, Joey had a lot of questions.

He barely noticed Jaden walking past him, looking curiously up the stairs to the destruction on the upper deck, as he stalked forward, stopping directly in front of the mummy still standing—the one which had hunted them all over Egypt last time, had played cat and mouse with them, and now had the audacity to act like nothing had ever happened. Like he could just stand there, and look at him. 

“Listen up buddy. I have no idea what game you are playing, but whatever it is, you better give it up now. What the hell are you doing here?! What's going on, and why the hell are you suddenly fighting against your own buddies? Did you get bored with them or what?”

He was screaming, he realised that, and maybe it also wasn't the brightest idea to point his finger directly into the face of the one who had displayed a worrying tendency of sucking people dry and turning them into mummified husks, but fuck it all, Joey didn't care. He was angry, he was confused, he was frightened, and he had just lived through an experience which he had promised himself two years ago he would never have to face again. He had every right to scream at this bastard!

Said bastard was just looking at him thought, head tilted sideways, as if he wasn't quite sure what to make of Joey and fuck it, that was just looking creepier every second. Joey could see each muscle, at least the ones that were still there, working and…and …and…damn it, did the fuckers lips just twitch? Was he fucking laughing at him?

Just when Joey was about to throw every amount of self-restraint and common sense he still possessed aside and just grab that bastard and shake him till he either stopped grinning or gave him an answer or more likely just started to kill him, the mummy opened his mouth and said something. And Joey didn't understand a single word. Oh right. That. Now he was pretty sure that bastard was smiling.

Joey took a deep breath and decided that he didn't have the nerves to deal with that. Or the patience. He lifted his head, and looked towards his friends in the front of the bus. “Yugi?” He was pleading, he recognised that, looking for some help, no matter in which form. If anyone could speak whatever fucking language this bastard was using, it was Yugi. Maybe he could even teach Joey a few curses to use on him. That would be really fucking appreciated right now.

Yugi smiled when he caught Joey's eye. There was compassion there, but yeah, his lips were twitching too. Tristan wasn't even carrying much pretence anymore—no, that bastard was just grinning up right at Joey, clearly amused by the mess he was currently wading into. Joey shot his friend a glare. Really helpful, mate. See if I save your thankless ass next time you get in trouble.

“He said that he's sorry, but he has no idea what you are saying.” Yugi shrugged as he smiled at Joey, and before Joey could point out that yes, he had been able to guess that much, thank you, Yugi looked towards the mummy, who now turned his gaze towards him, and launched into a long stream of very strange-sounding words. Joey shot Tristan a triumphant smile. See, this was how you acted with a friend in need. You helped him out! Granted, Joey had no idea if Yugi was truly translating what he said; theoretically he could say anything without Joey being any wiser, but seriously, that was Yugi. Tristan might be tempted to twist his words as a joke, but Yugi was way too nice for that.

The mummy was listening attentively, and when Yugi finished he nodded, the remains of his eyes tightening a bit. He turned back to Joey and opened his mouth, and Joey automatically tensed, ready for anything, be it an answer or a sandstorm or those fucking insects he had sent after them in Cairo once. But the scream that now ripped through the air didn’t come from the mummy.

“Let me go!” Jaden’s scream was stifled the same moment he let it out as two hand grabbed him and dragged him through the door of the bus and onto the street. Joey was already hurling around to follow them, being the one closest to the door, and Yugi ran behind him, heart pounding. He could hear and see the others moving and screaming too, following them, but everything had already turned into a blur. Only Jaden remained sharp—Jaden and the man, the one Joey had been so afraid of, dragging him into a black car. 

It was already driving off when Joey jumped into the street. Yugi could hear his loud “NO!” and when he himself reach the bridge, he could do nothing but look after the car driving off. Joey ran after it as if he was mad, Tristan and Atem on his heels. His thoughts were one constant, never-ending refrain of no-no-no-no! That wasn't supposed to happen, not to Jaden. He should have never been involved in this mess in the first place, and now… They had dragged him in, and it was all their fault!

Joey was a couple of paces behind the car that was hurling straight down the way they had just came, back across the Tower Bridge. Suddenly a loud alarm and the sound of sirens filled the air, and the car slowed down a bit. For a moment Joey was almost sure he could catch up with it, if he could just go a little bit faster. Somewhere behind him he could hear his friends, but even they had dissolved into the background, as the only thing that mattered was the car with Hirutani and Jaden. 

That bastard could go to hell, no matter how much Joey still feared him, how little he ever wanted to face him again. His problem was with Joey and Joey alone, and if he started to kidnap actual children in one of his sick games, then who he was and what he had done didn't matter; Joey would hunt him down personally. 

A flash of red darted out from one of the towers rising up left and right of the bridge, and across the street into the car. It sped up at the same moment, just as Joey was finally starting to catch up again. And now he finally saw why the alarm was ringing. The two parts of the bridge were rising, with the car speeding directly over it. If he didn't catch up now, the car and Jaden would be completely out of his reach.

He didn't even hesitate, just continued running as the road started to raise under his feet and the decline started to become steeper and steeper. It didn't even raise that fast and despite the battle just now he wasn't completely out of shape, but it still felt like he was running through quicksand, like every step he took just made him slower and the road rising faster.

By the time he reached the end of his half it was almost completely upright, and the only thing he could do was jump and grab onto the edge of this part of the bridge. He didn't have any ground to stand on, nothing to even make an attempt at a jump to the other half possible, and even if he did, it was realistic enough to see that the gap was too far. The only thing a jump would net him would be a very deep fall into the icy waters of the Thames, survival not fucking guaranteed. In the distance he could see the cars headlights disappear into the night, swerving for a second to get out of the way of another car. 

“Fuck!” That bastard. That fucking bastard.

Halfway across London Atem's uncle closed his eyes, a satisfied smile playing across his lips. He was standing on a walkway surrounding the top of the British Museum, hands laid lightly on the balustrade in front of him, the lights of London at his feet. “They got the boy. It's time that we make our way to Ahm Shere and the Scorpion King.” 

Shadi took a step forward to join him. His eyes glided over the sight in front of him without the slightest emotion, as if he wasn't even seeing the city. “And then our master will kill the Scorpion King to reclaim his army.” 

The man next to him nodded. “However, they have the sceptre of Osiris. I've seen it myself.” A frown danced over his face. “Even if they don't know what it is yet, either my nephew or your old leader could recognise it.” 

For a moment Shadi's face tightened. It was just a small reaction, barely noticeable, but on a man who hardly ever showed emotions, it definitely stuck out. “That doesn't matter.” His voice was clipped and short. “By the time we reach Ahm Shere, we'll already have freed the Dark One. He won't have need for it then at full power, and without the wearer of the bracelet they have no hope of ever finding the oasis.” A barely noticeable twitch of his lips was the only hint of a smile on his face.

It hadn’t taken Yugi long to figure out how to operate the mechanism of the bridge to make the two halves lower themselves again and get Joey back on stable ground—even if he had to climb over the corpse of the guard usually in charge of the job to do so. Their enemies hadn’t wasted any time trying to convince him to do what they wanted, it seemed.

Nobody said a word when the bridge came down and Joey slowly climbed to his feet again and stalked back towards them. He stopped just a few steps in front of Yugi, and while the others slowly walked over, he just looked on. Yugi had never seen him so look so defeated. It was Seth who cut the silence first and Yugi flinched when he did, because he could see exactly what kind of explosions his words would create.

“They won't hurt him.” Seth's spoke almost carelessly. 

Joey broke at these words. He stalked over, and grabbed him by the collar. Admittedly he didn't know what he wanted to do: throw him into the fucking Thames perhaps, but no matter what that fucking bastard had no idea what he was talking about. “And how the hell would you know?! You don't know Hirutani, you don't know what he's done! And it's not like you fucking care!”

Torturing or killing a child just to get at Joey? Hirutani would have a field day with that. Joey’s hands were shaking so much he was barely able to hold onto Seth, and with all the anger in his tone he could, all to well, hear the tears that were threatening to spill too. He could only hope Seth wasn’t catching on to that too. Because if Hirutani hurt Jaden…

Seth just looked at him for a second, face unreadable. He slowly raised his hand and brushed away Joey's grip. The gesture was remarkably calm and soft, given that Joey had been clearly threatening him. Also, Joey was pretty sure he was only imagining that, but when he spoke again Seth's voice sounded less arrogant than usual. For a moment he almost sounded compassionate, which was the clearest sign that Joey was slowly losing his grip on reality.

“He wears the bracelet of Anubis. For the next seven days, till they reach the pyramid, nobody and nothing will be able to hurt him.” He spoke so calmly, so absolutely sure, that Joey could feel his own pulse and breathing calm down. Jaden would be safe, Jaden would be alive. He slowly took a step back from Seth, and nodded slowly.

Yugi blinked, looking from Joey to Seth. “Wait? Jaden is wearing the bracelet?” When had that happened? Admittedly, he probably shouldn't have been that surprised. Jaden had been alone with the chest for a while, and he had a talent for playing around with things he absolutely shouldn't touch. The bracelet was a new highlight though.

Behind Seth, he could see Atem stepping up to join them, together with Tea and Ryou. His empty eye sockets wandered from one of them to the other, and for a moment Yugi considered trying to translate what was going on at the moment, but he had no idea how he could manage that so fast. As good as he was, he actually had to think about his translations too, and that didn't just happen from one second to the other, even if he only went for a shortened version. This…would be a problem. 

He looked from one of the people surrounding him to the other. They were talking, but again, he had no idea what they were saying. It didn't even sound close to any language he was familiar with, confusing and strange and way to fast like everything in this new world. The misunderstandings and communication problems growing from that might be amusing once or twice, but in the long run it was too much of a problem to ignore. Heba could understand him, could tell him what the others said, but him translating everything took time they didn't have and made everything more complicated. No, Atem had to pick the other solution he had available to him. Even if it took more magic than he was comfortable with, magic which demanded more energy and concentration than his shadow magic, it was worth the risk.

He closed his eyes as his lips formed the words of the spell, less familiar than his shadows, but still a comforting, familiar act. The magic settled down over him like a cloak of invisible armour. He could feel him straining his thoughts, his barely restrained glee as his bonds slackened, felt him rise, and so Atem hurried a bit more than he would have preferred, murmuring the words faster and faster, pushing him down the moment the spell was finished. It worked, but it was close.

He was shaking, a slight sheen of sweat forming over what remained of his skin, out of breath even if the magic itself wasn't that complicated at all. He had gotten a lot closer to the surface than Atem had anticipated. But it was done; he was locked in his mind again, as good as Atem could, his anger running through his body and mind the proof of that. 

Finally something in this world made sense for Atem. He could understand every word spoken around him.

Joey took a deep breath, and nodded. “When he put the bracelet on he saw the pyramids at Giza and then the Temple in Karnak…” A voice he had never heard before interrupted him. It was deep and calm, almost thoughtful. 

“And when he reaches Karnak, the bracelet will show him the next step of the journey. It's the only guide to Ahm Shere.”

Joey nearly jumped out of his skin as he flew around, frantically looking around for who the hell had just spoken. He only saw Ryou and Tea, looking equally confused as him and…and the mummy, looking at him as calm as somebody with rotten eyeballs probably could look. Oh fucking hell…

He raised his hand, trying to ignore how much it was shaking, and pointed an accusing finger at the mummy. “Wait. Since when can you speak?” He saw the mummy’s face tightening, and interrupted him before he could even open his mouth again. “And don't come at me with any kind of forever crap. You know what I mean! If you find this whole fucking mess funny...” If that guy had only pretended not to understand him, he would rip out whatever fucking remained of his tongue. This was not the time were Joey could appreciate this kind of joke.

Atem took a deep breath. “No, I don't.” Every word he spoke ripped into what remained of his control. The spell, as simple as it usually was, was one he had to constantly keep active, so it gave Zorc every chance he could possible dream of to tap into it and suck its energy for himself. Nothing about this was funny. As risky as this was, it was still calculated risk, still something he could control. At least for now…

“I still don't know your language. But I do know a spell that makes this possible.” A spell. More magic. Just fucking Great. Joey sighed and decided that since this was the least weird and also the least threatening event that had happened today, he would just fucking ignore it. He didn't have the energy left to worry about that. Mummies and magic, those were part of his life now. Fine.

Yugi nodded, trying to fight down his excitement. That spell sounded amazing. If they could just understand each other without translating…there were so many things he could ask Atem about his time, about life in Egypt in general, about Hamunaptra and…maybe not the last one. That would probably be a bit in bad taste. Still, there was so much knowledge to be had there… But all of that would have to wait. They had a different problem now. 

“So if we don't get to Karnak before them, we won't know where they go from there.” 

Tea raised an eyebrow. “Well, I guess that means we need a magic carpet.” With the way she smiled it was clear she knew exactly where to get one.


	7. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

_ Cairo _

The train left the city around midday—with the soldiers seated on top and in every wagon they weren't already using—slowly making its way through the streets and into the desert. Atem's uncle watched the city drift by the window, without hardly seeing anything. Dust and dirt, and the rabble of the common folk everywhere. Kemet had truly fallen. 

He turned to Shadi seated opposite of him. “When Lord Zorc last encountered our friends, it didn't end well for him. We need the armies of the underworld as a precaution.”

Shadi turned his head in his direction. One of the corners of his lips was slightly turned upwards, as if he was trying to smirk. “As long as we keep an eye on this”—he gestured with his head towards the black book lying on the table next to him—“we should encounter no problems.”

A loud noise from outside the wagon made him look up and seconds later the door flew open, revealing Hirutani, carrying a kicking Jaden rather unceremoniously under his arm. Jaden's fight stopped when his eyes caught the book lying on the table. 

“Hey, is that the Book of the Dead?” He hardly noticed when his kidnapper dropped him in the seat in front of it. Admittedly, since last night his whole situation had just gotten worse and worse, with his kidnapping being a particular highlight. But he was still alive so far; he still had an invisible friend fluttering around somewhere in his vicinity, which, surprisingly, actually made him feel better; and that book right there was legendary. He had actually thought it was just a story when Yugi first told him about it. 

Kuriboh slowly fluttered over, carefully sniffing at the book like a cat, only to jump away when the man in red rose and stepped forward. “Aren't you a clever child?” His tone was mocking enough that it was clear he thought Jaden was anything but. He grinned down at Jaden. “Your family must be missing you terribly, I presume?” He shook his head, and his mouth twitched as he smiled. “Oh I forgot, you don't have a family. They are nothing but strangers.” That sentence managed what nothing else ever accomplished. Jaden’s mouth, already open to form a retort, snapped shut with no sound coming out of it, and he suddenly sat very still.

How…how did he… Jaden's eyes burned and he pressed his lips together. How did he know? Yes, he was an orphan, one of many on Cairo’s streets. Yes, the people who had cared for him for the last couple of years—from Isis to Yugi and the others—had been strangers. He knew that, and he hadn't had any problems with that. He liked his life; he was happy with how it was and he had never wasted time being sad about something he couldn't change. So why was it suddenly hard to breathe? And why did it feel like the man had just casually rammed a dagger into him? 

The man must have caught the look on his face, and his smile deepened. “But still, if you want to see them again you better behave.” Jaden hardly heard the words. He hardly even saw what was happening around him, till something warm gently nudged his cheek. He blinked, trying to focus again, and caught, more out of the corner of his eyes than anything else, Kuriboh hovering near him, looking at him with big, worried eyes. 

“Kuri?” Jaden had almost laughed. If he was all right? Probably not, but…but at least he wasn't alone. Not here, not ever, no matter what that man was claiming. And even if his words still hurt, so what? Jaden would deal with that; he always had. Just not right in front of him. He could be really stubborn if he wanted to, and he surely wasn't going to give him that pleasure.

So he shot a barely noticeable smile in Kuriboh’s direction and looked up to face the man again, with the most disbelieving face he was currently able to pull. “Listen, I'm hardly ever capable of listening to the people who take care of me, as you put it, so why would I do that for you?” Though, for Isis and the others, he at least tried to behave, even if it didn't always work out that way. For that guy? Not so much.

The man just bowed down to look him directly in the eyes. “Because none of them would ever put poisonous snake into your bed. And my friend here”—he stood up again, and nodded towards the blond guy grabbing Jaden—“also has a few creative ideas on how to deal with unruly children.” 

Jaden drew a harsh breath. Ok, maybe…maybe this could turn out bad…

The man looked back towards Jaden. “So, Chosen One...” With the way he phrased the last two words it was clear he wasn't taking them seriously at all. “You will take us to Ahm Shere.” 

Jaden blinked. He was still a little bit shaken because he really wasn’t looking forward to sharing his bed with some snakes, and that last part had definitely sounded like an order but…but his mouth was already opening itself and he could hear himself answering before he thought about it. “And—what if I don't. If I get…lost? Is that where the snakes come in?” Hey, he was just asking. It was better to know exactly what terms they were operating under. Also, it gave him something else to focus on than the man’s others words, “You don't have a family.” They were still rattling around his head like billiard balls only those balls were spiked, and every second they bounced around hurt him.

The smile disappeared from the man’s face. “You are stubborn. But that doesn't matter.” He knelt down again, so that he was of the same height as Jaden, and formed a lazy circle with his hands. Shadows sprung up near them and lifted up Jaden’s hand and pulled back his sleeve. No matter how much he tried to resist, the bracelet was on display for the whole carriage to see. “If it comes to that, the snakes are the least of your worries, for this bracelet is a curse, almost more than it's a gift.” 

The shadows let go of his hand and swirled around them, forming an elaborate hourglass shaped like two snakes circling around each other and gleaming like they were made of pure gold. Fine white sand began to trickle down. 

“Your time is running short.” Jaden nearly rolled his eyes. That was a little bit too dramatic; the guy was overplaying this and just a bit too much. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that before. The minute I put this thing on, we all have seven days till the Scorpion King awakens and the whole word ends.” Old news…why that should make him work to actually help to Scorpion King rise was less clear.

But at those words, the man smiled again, looking like a tiger who had just spotted his prey, and the part of Jaden that wasn’t still busy with the wounds from his old words froze. That…that didn't look good. 

“That's true. However you seem to have missed the part about how the wearer of the bracelet must enter the golden pyramid before the sun touches it on that last morning. If not, the bracelet will suck the very life right out of you.” 

He must be lying. That was the first thought running through Jaden’s head. That Medjay, Seth, he would have mentioned something like that, wouldn't he have not? But then, was he really willing to play that risk? No, no he wasn't. Jaden slowly breathed out and looked at the man in front of him. “Oh, yeah, I missed that part.” He blinked, as something else struck him. “Wait…doesn't that mean that there are only five days left?” Admittedly Jaden didn't always pay that much attention to time, especially not when he had been kidnapped and dragged across two continents but he was pretty sure that this was an accurate estimation. 

That tiger like smile spread over the man’s face again. “Then you better keep us on track.”

He stood up and made an impatient gesture with his hand. The blond man grabbed Jaden from behind and hauled him out of the door. The last thing Jaden saw, as he got dragged down the corridor, were the two men which had attacked Tristan and Ryou and him at the temple. They were carrying a chest, old-looking and richly decorated, and for a moment Jaden was sure that he had seen it before, in the museum at Cairo, in one extremely well-hidden room, under so many locks and keys that it had taken him a particularly boring afternoon to get through them and find it. One of the two guys glared at him as they passed. Then the door closed behind Jaden, and he was thrown down into the seat of another empty carriage, alone with his blond guard and his hectic, hurtful thoughts. 

Five days…

You've got no family…

The little settlement Tea navigated them to was almost half a day’s trip away from Cairo, and when Tristan finally parked the jeep there, he let his head sink down. After all the action last night; the last minute flight back to Cairo, just after arriving home; not to mention the action at the temple before that; and the drive here, over dunes and roads which were hardly more than barely visible tracks in the sand, he just wanted to close his eyes and sleep. Hopefully Tea's flying carpet would be silent enough that he could catch at least a few seconds of shut-eye.

Not that any of the others was faring any better. Tristan watched them climb out of the car. Yugi and Joey still looked the fittest of them all, apart from Seth who probably had some sort of holy guardian of the undead tricks going on or was so much of a statue that he simply didn't need sleep. Ryou stumbled out of the car as he stepped out, and Tea stifled yawn. And of course, their new mummy friend. Though, given the mask he was now wearing, it was hard to say anything about his current status at all.

It had been slightly creepy to watch him spin a black kaftan and cloak out of thin air and shadows, with hardly so much as few movements of his hands and fingers. Admittedly, it was better and far easier to explain than travelling around with a walking and talking mummy, but it, together with the unmovable silver mask covering his face and finishing the whole ensemble, really creeped the fuck out of Tristan. Mostly since the last time he had seen this outfit on that mummy had been during a night in Cairo while he, silver mask in hand, had looked up to them from the freshly mummified corpse of Sid before he had spit out his mosquitoes of doom towards them and turned all of Cairo into his sleepwalking zombies. Fun memories.

Also, it just looked creepy as hell. That mask was a death mask, for heaven’s sake! But it worked. And while Tristan was still sure dragging that guy along and trusting him was a bad idea, he had helped them and he also hadn't attacked them at the museum, so he would reserve judgment until then and just keep his weapon ready. And keep praying for some sleep before that.

With a sigh he climbed out of his seat and tried to catch up with the others, walking towards one of the buildings strewn around the area. It looked exactly like all the others, except for a wooden sign with Arabic writing proclaiming a flight service for rent, and the picture of an airplane. Tristan glared at it. That drawing looked a lot like the plane they had crashed in last time, so his confidence, already low before, was reaching new rock bottoms.

Yugi must have had some similar memories, even if he hadn’t even been in said airplane last time, since he hurried up a bit towards Tea. “This is your magic carpet?” For Yugi, that almost sounded doubtful. Tea just turned her head back towards him and the others, and managed a tired smile. 

“Oh yes, don't worry. He's a professional. And you know him already.” Her eyes flittered towards Tristan when she said that, and his stomach dropped a bit. No, no…she couldn't mean… Tea wouldn't… That guy was not a professional!

At that moment the wooden doors to the house opened and a very familiar figure stepped out. Every single one of Tristan’s fears came true. 

“Tea!” With a bright smile and glinting green eyes, Duke Devlin waltzed towards them, hands stretched out as if he wanted to hug them all. Luckily, he just grabbed Tea's hands in greetings. “It has been way too long.” 

No. No. No. There was no fucking way he was going to end up bound to the back of a fucking plane again. Not a fucking snowball’s chance in hell, no matter what the fuck that charming bastard would say. Once was enough. And there were more people than last time, travelling for probably much longer…yeah, no fucking way. That was it. He would turn straight back, hop into the car and return to Cairo. The end of the world wasn't worth more than his sanity.

But at that point it was already too late. Duke looked up, glancing over Tea's shoulder to the others. He winked when he caught Tristan’s eye, which made him groan. Fucking hell, there was no chance of escape now. 

“So what brings you here? Another undead apocalypse?” He sounded actually excited about that possibility. Well, at least somebody here was going to have his fun. 

Tea nodded. “Something like that, at least. We would like to keep it from happening this time.” Duke's grin deepened. “Then please, follow me. I'm really looking forward to this. Every time I fly with you, I get to crash-land in a sandstorm.” They followed him and Tea through the door into the courtyard of his building, Tristan dragging a bit behind. This was going to be such a mess.

Tea's eyes wandered over the house and the court as she listened to him explain his new situation. He had left the military half a year ago, honourably discharged, which, as he put it now, was a bit of a miracle in itself, and was something she had heard about before. He had gone private now, making his living with flying for tourists or transports or “this and that” which probably wasn't all strictly legal. 

It had been a bit of a relief to nod along to his stories while only hearing half of it, her mind buzzing with tiredness and theories. Duke had picked up on that, of course; one glance at her and he had fallen into his old routine, just talking about things they both already knew so that she had time to clink herself out. The drive from Cairo had almost been too calm and heavy for that, everyone in the car busy with their own thoughts and worries, which rendered the air thicker than it was on most evenings in the hotel’s bar.

They had stayed only shortly in Cairo, just long enough to organise a car, but she had used the time they had to catch up on some news. But what she had heard hadn’t been good. The missing workers still hadn't turned up, and their families worries and grief were getting worse and worse each day. There were so many missing that it should have been hard to ignore, yet the authorities continued to dismiss everything as just a coincidence, and offered weak assurances that they would all turn up again soon. Anger filled the air in Cairo, and if something wasn't happening soon, people would be out in the streets again.

It was even worse because Tea was starting to get a very good picture about what had happened. She only had a couple of descriptions about the men who had hired the workers, all of the second-hand chat old memories, so they were not exactly rich in details or certainty, but what they agreed on fit the three men from the museum, especially Shadi and Hirutani, rather well. And for the third one, she was almost sure she knew who he was now. 

Nobody wanted a riot in Cairo, not in a country already angry and fed up with British interference. If the police and the state were ignoring that many missing citizens, that much potential dynamite in the streets, somebody with a lot of influence wanted them too. It had been a newspaper headline that had delivered Tea her final piece for the puzzle, and this one she hadn't even picked up in Egypt, but at the airport in London. Probably because nobody really wanted to loudly proclaim in Egypt that one of the most powerful weapons manufacturers in the world was currently in Cairo to strike a deal with the British Army. Not with everyone upset about the British Army still being in Suez despite all official sources proclaiming Egypt as independent. That might just send the wrong—or rather, the exactly right—message. But the fact remained, Gozaburo Kaiba was in Egypt and from his picture in the newspaper, he was the third man in the museum, the third one to take the workers away. 

Walking a bit ahead of the group with Tea, Duke turned around to muster them together. “So exactly how many people are we taking here? Because I can take you, but with them and the horses too it might get a bit difficult.” 

Joey raised his head to blink at him. Them? Horses?” He wasn’t sure he was really understanding what everyone was saying at this point, just sleepwalking along and trying not to think too much about the guilt stalking him, while ignoring Tristan’s grumbling about planes and ‘not this again.’ Though he could agree with his friend on that one. Worst plane ride of his life. Only Seth had been happy about that, and that alone was reason enough not to repeat that. For all he knew Duke hadn’t even said anything strange; he was just hallucinating.

Then he saw what Duke was pointing at and his jaw dropped. Oh fuck. 

Twelve riders, decked out in full—and from one particular night in Hamunaptra—extremely familiar weaponry, lined up just at the edge of the desert. Joey recognised Malik among them, who actually nodded in their direction, but that didn't make him feel better. Medjay warriors. If anything drove the seriousness of the situation home it was that. Instinctively his left hand shot to the tattoo on his other wrist, and he rubbed it nervously. As much as he tried to forget it, he had not forgotten how Seth had identified it, and frankly it scared the hell out of him. A protector? A warrior for god? A Medjay? Him? Yeah, fucking right. 

Seth probably hadn’t told the other Medjay anything about it, and Joey knew that they weren't here for that. They had more important things to worry about, and Seth was too disgusted by him wearing that tattoo to mention it to anyone, ever but still… Still Joey couldn't help but look at the warriors assembled here—so assured in their duty, so connected to each other by tradition, by their whole way of life—and wonder why somebody had thought he had something that would connect him with them.

Seth, who had been talking to Malik, used that moment to turn around. For a moment his eyes seemed to focus on Joey, narrowing shortly, and Joey had to wonder if somehow that bastard had added mind-reading to his many annoying features and knew exactly what he was thinking now. Then the gaze wandered off of him, as Seth walked towards them, and Joey was left feeling extremely foolish.

They met Seth halfway to the other Medjay, and when Yugi raised his hand to greet them, Seth just gestured backwards with his head. “Those are the commanders of the twelve tribes of the Medjay.” Joey's breath stopped for a second. Twelve tribes? Really? He had assumed they were just one tribe alone… How many of them existed? How many had really been trying to kill them that night in Hamunaptra? And how many of them might have some issues with him wearing that tattoo?

Then Seth raised his hand, still looking back to his people. “Horus!” From Malik’s hand something rose, and a white- and black-spotted falcon soared through the air, landing on Seth's hand. It turned its head to muster them with yellow, almost disturbingly intelligent, eyes.

Ryou smiled. “Your pet bird?” 

Seth's eyes wandered over him for a second, narrowing in irritation even as he nodded. “My best and most clever friend.” With the way he mustered all of them here, it was clear he definitely thought the bird was cleverer than all of them put together. And with the way the bird looked at them, it was equally clear it shared its masters impression. Joey almost sighed. Wonderful. Even the bird thought it was better than them. A fitting companion for Seth indeed.

Seth was looking back at Horus, gently caressing its chest, and as the bird preened under the attention, Joey couldn't look away from the scene. That…that almost looked like Seth was softly smiling. He could chalk that up to another hallucination brought on by tiredness but…but maybe Seth really cared about this bird.

Then Seth looked back up and the impression vanished like a fata morgana in the desert. “He will let the commanders know our progress so that they may follow.” 

Tristan took a step forward. “Wait. Not that I don’t appreciate any help, but…why exactly should they follow us?” His tone was deeply mistrustful, and honestly, Joey could agree with that. As much as they had been allied before, the Medjay were perfectly willing to kill everyone who came close to the people and places they protected. If Ahm Shere was included at that, their reason for following them might not be so benign.

“The Scorpion King's army.” The voice behind him was so unexpected and still so strange that Joey flinched. He turned his head to glare at the mummy, Atem, whatever. Not that the guy made any sign of even noticing that, even if it was admittedly hard to tell under the mask and cloak. Fuck, did the guy have to be so silent? Joey had almost forgotten that he was even here, which was really worrisome. He didn't need a mummy stalking almost unnoticed behind him; his nerves were already tasked enough.

But Atem was still turned towards Seth. “You plan to fight it?” 

Seth's eyes flicked over to him, and for a moment it almost looked like he was bowing his head a bit, before he nodded. Fuck, of course the one thing he would chose to show a little bit of respect to would be the fucking mummy he was tasked with keeping down and locked up. It did fit, somehow. Then he turned around, back to his warriors, and raised his right hand 

_ “Allahu Ma'ana!” _ With those words he crossed his hand in front of his chest, letting it rest over his heart for a second. The other leaders repeated the gesture and the blessing, and turned their horses to ride off as one. Only a dust cloud remained as they slowly disappeared along the horizon.

_ Allahu Ma'ana _ … God is with us… If Joey could believe that, he would probably feel a lot more hopeful about finding sleep any time soon. Only God hadn’t really been with him ever before, so he saw no reason why that should change now.

Seth was still watching them. “If the armies of the underworld arise…” He spoke softly, almost to himself, and so Joey only realised he was still answering Atem's question when Seth turned around to look back at them, eyes hard with determination. “They will do all they can to stop it.” Not they  _ will _ stop it, they  _ will _ fight them, they  _ will _ end them…but all they  _ can. _ That was still better than killing Joey and the others. But Joey also had seen these guys fight, and he didn't want to face them ever again. If Seth talked about the possible fight down the way, it really didn't bode too well for them all.

For a moment nobody said anything, and then Yugi nodded. “Then maybe we should move on. Maybe we can still keep this fight from happening.” There really wasn't anything to add to that, thought Joey personally thought this hope was just as believable as Seth's statement about fighting the armies. They were all well and truly screwed.

Just how screwed they were Tristan only realised when they walked back to the village and he finally saw what passed as Duke's transport these days. It… With a lot of goodwill it probably could be described as a blimp. But Tristan wasn't really feeling all that kind at the moment, so he would call it from what it was: a heap of trash stitched together. The thing, which was probably the balloon, looked like Duke had grabbed whatever was thrown away from various tanneries and stitched it together by hand. The ropes connecting the gondola to the balloon appeared stable, even if they were thrown criss-cross across both balloon and gondola in various ways, and the gondola itself had likely been created by a very drunk carpenter using whatever wood the Nile dragged up. The whole ensemble vaguely fulfilled the common estimations on what an airship had to look like, but nothing there inspired great confidence. That it was even floating above ground was something Tristan considered a fucking miracle. Looking left and right, he saw looks of equal confusion on his friends’ faces.

Duke however didn't seem to realise the reaction his ship inspired. “Isn't she beautiful?” He actually seemed to be serious too, grinning up at the ship like it truly was the most beautiful vehicle he had ever seen. 

Tristan gestured helplessly. “It's a balloon!” Hey, that was way more polite than everything else he could have called it. He was actually proud of himself for that.

Duke rolled his head with a truly audible sigh, and turned around to face them. “It's a dirigible.” Forced patience was dribbling from his words, as if he had to explain that for the hundredth time, and the look he now shot Tristan was equally fond as it was exasperated. 

Tea interrupted Tristan before he could point out that that thing might be a lot, but surely not a functional dirigible. “You don't have a plane anymore?” Well, at least she hadn't dragged them here with the intention to make them board that. Thought that meant she had expected a plane, and Tristan was almost sure that included them being bound to various parts of it again…maybe that balloon actually was the better alternative. 

Duke shook his head, making a throwaway gesture with his hand. “Fa! Planes are boring. They are a thing of the past.” He stopped in front of Tristan and grinned up at them. “Listen, the lady here is quicker than she looks. And.” He leaned forward a bit, and suddenly he sounded almost serious. Even if his smile still stayed, the usual careless air that surrounded him had changed to something more serious and daring. “She is quiet. Perfectly for sneaking up on people, which, if I may remind about last time, was the very thing that went wrong two years ago. Nobody will even notice us coming.”

Then he straightened up again, and his usual devil may care grin was firmly back in place. “Unless, you prefer the old method, barging in face first, guns blazing, everybody getting shot in various body parts. I'm down with that too, of course.” He actually winked at Tristan when he said that. Tristan just shook his head, an exasperated sight on his lips, and followed the others, towards the balloon, while Duke slung an arm around his shoulders. “Come on, that will be fun.” 

Yeah, like hell it would.

Joey was moving to follow the others when he caught Seth shaking his head. “You people really can't keep your feet on the ground, can you?” As he walked after the others, Joey's eyes followed him, and he snorted. Oh really? From what he remembered, Seth had had the most fun of them all during their last flight with Duke. But  _ they _ couldn’t keep their feet on the ground, all right.

A strike with a short dagger was enough to cut the anchor keeping the balloon on the ground, and as it slowly rose towards the sky, Yugi took a step closer to the railing, watching the village children nearly fall over themselves trying to run after the flying ship. Somehow that sight made him smile. Jaden would have loved flying in a dirigible.

A soft rustling sound next to him made him turn his head, and he watched as Atem stepped up to the railing too, the mask tilting sideways as he looked down. On the horizon ahead of them, the pyramids rose towards the sky. As far away as they were, Yugi felt as if he only had to lift his hand to touch them.

“I never saw them like this.” Atem's voice was so soft Yugi had to concentrate to catch each word. He nodded softly, a small smile on his face. 

“It must be really strange.” If the sarcophagus he had been buried…been trapped in was any indication, Atem had lived sometime during the New Kingdom. The pyramids had been old even then, watching over Cairo unchanged for both their lives, no matter how many centuries and millennia lied between their years. How did it feel then, to find them the only thing unchanged— something familiar in a completely new world—where nothing else was the same? Yugi couldn't even say if Atem was talking about how Cairo was growing closer and closer to them every day, the city encroaching on the pyramids in a way that had been unthinkable in his time, or if he simply never thought to see the pyramids from the air. 

Atem turned his head slightly, so that the mask was now directly facing Yugi. “It is. Though they are comforting too. Some things stay the same.” Yugi nodded and, for a while, neither of them said a word, while the balloon made its way across the desert and started to glide over the buildings of Cairo, drawing closer and closer to the pyramids.

They flew right by them when the sun was starting to set, bathing the ancient stone monuments in a rich, golden red. Underneath them a group of camels and their riders were passing by slowly, making their trek from the pyramids back to Cairo. The whole scenery was so tranquil that Yugi almost thought he was dreaming, as if the world had suddenly stopped moving to give them all time to catch their breath and rest. With the pyramids there, nearly untouched by the centuries, by everything which had thrown this country about; still standing proud, a symbol of what Egypt had been able to achieve while most of the rest of the world was only slowly figuring out the concepts of writing and living in cities rather than villages. It almost gave him hope, that this too was manageable. That they would find Jaden in time to save him, that the Scorpion King wouldn’t rise and that his army would stay asleep forever. That the world would keep on turning, and the pyramids would keep standing long after their time.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

Night had fallen by the time they had reached the desert, with full moon lighting up their way, and the dark sky filled by millions of stars. They had picked their places all over the gondola, with Duke on top of the cabin at the rear of the ship, keeping their course at the wheel. When Joey made his way to the bow of the ship he caught a glance at Tristan leaning against the wheel, fast asleep, with Duke moving carefully to not disturb him. Someone had draped a blanket over his shoulder, and Joey turned away with a smile. That was first class teasing material right there. 

His smile vanished, when he caught a look of his target. Atem was sitting at the other end of the ship, directly at the bow, mask turned upward to watch the stars. Joey still got the creeps when he was near him; that guy was a freaking mummy after all, but Atem had been polite enough till now that he could fight to ignore that. As long as he didn't start killing them all, Joey could be fucking polite too, and he had some questions after all. So without really looking at Atem, he let himself fall down next to him, and really tried not to shiver as the mummy turned his head to look at him. But that fucking emotionless expressionwas creeping him out too! He couldn't help it!

“I still got a couple of questions, if you don't mind.” And these questions were a lot calmer and way less hysterical than the last time assault of questions. Admittedly, he still wasn't sure exactly what to ask, with what to start, but it was better than just screaming at Atem. And it was a way to take his mind of Jaden and Hirutani and what…what might be happening to the boy now. 

Atem slightly inclined his head, and Joey took that as a sign to continue.

“You've got any idea what’s awaiting us at that damned oasis? Apart from a golden pyramid exactly?” That…hadn't been quite what he had wanted to ask, but it had been on his mind for the longest time, bouncing around here and there. He still could hear Yugi talking about it, excitement lifting every word, about the armies sent to search for it…”You are probably closest to any real knowledge about it.” He didn't know why he said that, what exactly he meant if he was talking about Atem's age or the literal mummy in the room in the shape of Zorc, but…he was worried, he was afraid, as much as he hated to admit it, and if that guy chose to be offended over his words, so be it. Joey just wanted some kind of answers.

“I'm sorry. I don't think I could be of a lot of help when it comes to that.” The mummy’s voice was calm and even, but he sounded like he was feeling sorry about that. “Nobody has laid eyes upon it since the time of the Scorpion King, if all writings can be believed, and he lived long before my time.” Atem glanced towards the rear of the ship, back the way they came. “Long before the pyramids, even.” Those words were murmured so softly, Joey could hardly understand them. Then the masked face turned back towards him, and Atem continued as if nothing had happened. “If anyone has seen it after him, they never returned to tell their tale.”

Yes, that was not very helpful. Joey raised his eyes heavenwards and sighed, looking back down again. Just their luck—heading towards certain doom with hardly any information. His eyes caught a golden glimmer, and he looked closer, to see the golden sceptre Tristan had grabbed when they had fled the mansion that night. There hardly lied a day between that night and this night, and it still felt like this day was a lifetime ago.

Joey picked the sceptre up, hardly caring if anyone noticed that he did so. His eyes wandered to Tristan. That idiot had carried it all the way here. Probably couldn't let go of it. Joey had to smile at this thought, after all he recognised it too. The last thing remaining from the plundered treasure of Hamunaptra. In a way it was fitting that it found its way back to Egypt that way… Maybe when…if the whole thing was over and they were still alive in the end, he should hand it over to Seth, to return it to the city. A peace offering to that cursed place… If they survived…

“But you do have the weapon needed to kill him. That's something to be hopeful about.” Atem's voice interrupted his thought, and Joey looked up, confused about what the hell he was going on. Then he caught the way Atem's masked face was angled, and realised that he was looking at the sceptre. 

“This thing?” Joey lifted it. “That's a weapon?” Well, he could hit someone over the head with it, he supposed, but somehow he didn't think it would be easy to get close enough to the Scorpion King to do that.

Atem shrugged. “From what I have heard, yes. Of course, this is the first time the Scorpion King has ever risen, so anything is a bit theoretical.” Great, that was…exactly as expected given his luck, Joey supposed. Here was a weapon to kill the big bad monster king, but it had never been tested, so who the hell knew if it worked. Atem must have caught his look, because the mask shifted to look back up to him again. 

“Still, if I were you I would keep it close. The one who told me about it has never been wrong before.” There was something strange in his voice, something that made it almost sound gentle. For a moment Joey was tempted to ask if this mystery person had also told him about the curse which turned him into a mummy in the first place, because that had worked out really well, but he caught himself at the last second. That might be a bit too insensitive, and if Atem decided to turn him into a mummy for that, Joey couldn't even complain that much. 

So he just nodded. Fine by him. It was a potential weapon, the only truly useful thing they had heard about till now. That was reason enough to keep it. Couldn't hurt to fucking try.

“Oh don't worry.” He lifted his hand so that they both could get a good look of the sceptre, gesticulating wildly to make his point. “Not even the gods could take it from me!” Just as he finished that statement he felt something slip in his fingers, and looked up to see the sceptre toppling backwards out of his grasp, directly over the edge of the ship.

He lunged for it, trying desperately to catch it, because damn it, no that couldn’t really be happening, but another hand shot out from the left even faster. It caught the spectre right before it truly disappeared in the darkness, and Joey looked up filled with relief, to see Yugi smiling down at him. 

“Maybe you should be a bit more careful with that.”

Joey just shook his head; a big grin split on his face, as he took it from Yugi. “Please, I had everything under control. That was all on purpose.” His heart was still beating way too fast, and he was sure it had actually stopped for a moment when the fucking golden stick had toppled over. “Just a couple of tricks.” He was very careful not to look in Atem's direction when he said that. Even with mask hiding his face, he really didn't want to know which look the mummy was shooting him. He didn't need to be criticized by the undead too, thank you very much.

Yugi laughed, as he sat down next to them. “If you say so.” 

The sceptre was safe, so he didn't mind, but it would have been quite a loss. He still hadn't quite identified what kind of function it had had once upon a time; though of course the eternal fallback of declaring it ritualistic when nobody knew what something was always worked. Nonetheless, it was beautiful. The bottom part looked like a papyrus column, with fine lines carved in to form the typical muster meant to invoke the plant, while the bottom winged out in a slight curve to form the plant itself. The top of the sceptre was formed by three small bell-shaped capitals before it turned into quadratic base for an inward curving round shape, decorated with the names of the Great Ennead, the nine main deities of Heliopolis: Atum, the sun and creator god; his children Shu, the dry air, and Tefnut, the moist air and rain; their own children Geb, the earth god and and Nut, the sky goddess; and finishing with their four children, Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys. The whole ensemble was concluded by two miniature bullhorns on top of the sceptre, with one of the horns already broken, framing a star. 

He had never seen anything quite like this, and there were hundreds of questions about it already reforming in his mind. But even if he theoretically had the time to ask them now, other questions were far more urgent and important. So with a heavy heart he shoved his questions aside and turned his famous back towards the presence. That would have been such a nice distraction too, from his worries about Jaden, and if the boy was still save… He was afraid for him, afraid that something had happened already… His captors needed him alive, but not exactly in one piece. Jaden could take care of himself, he knew that. He was clever, and he was brave but still… He was just a kid….

Yugi shook his head, trying to fight his worries down. His other questions could take his mind off that last look at Jaden, screaming for them while being dragged into the car too. But the questions was hardly any happier.

“Atem, I've been wondering about something.” Both Atem and Joey's head turned into his directions at that, and Yugi almost laughed again. They had nearly been synchronized. Pity that laughter wasn't going to make his question form any easier. “At the museum, the man who lead the ritual”—the one whom Yugi had shortly seen in an Egyptian…temple, palace, he couldn't be quite sure…as an Egyptian noble in either way—“you called him your uncle.”

Joey's mouth flew open, and he turned his head towards Atem. “Wait, creepy suit guy is your uncle? How the hell is that possible? He was alive?!” Which was pretty much exactly what Yugi had been intending to ask, just a little bit more indirectly. 

Still Atem nodded. “He is. And I don't know how that is possible either.”

He turned his head slightly sideways and continued to speak, before Joey, who was opening his mouth again, could ask another question. “He should have been dead a long time ago, and I thought…” He interrupted himself and shook his head. “The dead don't get a second chance at life.” For a second Yugi almost had the impression that he was looking at him when he said that, but then the mask turned away from them and the moment was over.

Joey blinked. “So, the dead never return? Ever? That's… I’m sorry, but from your mouth that sounds a bit…” He gestured helplessly in Atem's direction, his hand grasping the sceptre tighter. “You know.” 

Atem turned towards him. “I'm an exception, I’m afraid.” His tone was completely dry, almost deadpan. “It's a bit…debatable on when I died and if I actually died or if the spell…” He must have caught the way Joey's face turned an extremely unhealthy shade of white, since he interrupted himself. “But that's not the point. Somebody who dies normally would either earn entrance to Field of Reeds or fall prey to the Devourer. The  _ Ba _ could visit the lands of the living but nothing else.”

Yugi nodded. “And yet he's here.” The man had clearly identified Atem as his nephew; he had known exactly who he was and how to deal with him. And he also clearly wasn't a bird with a human head either, so he couldn’t be a  _ Ba _ . The how, as interesting as it was, wasn't important right now. Just that he was here, in the flesh. “And he's after the Scorpion King. And Zorc.”

Joey sighed. “Both of them, how nice.” He turned his head back towards Atem. “Any idea why? With the way that family reunion went, I don't think he just wanted to meet you again.” 

Something like a snort came out from under the mask. “Not quite.” Any amusement that had been present in his voice disappeared as he turned his head to look out at the Nile Valley they were currently gliding over, glowing in the moonlight. “My uncle, he…” He shook his head, and began again. “For his whole life he was jealous. I only realised it when it was too late, and I don't think my father ever knew but… They were twins—my father and he—and my father was the one who was chosen as the next heir when their older brother died.” 

Joey let out a low whistle. “Damn it, that's a classic story right there. He thought he deserved the throne?” 

Atem nodded. “Aknadin was part of the council, both in my father’s time and mine, but that wasn't enough. I don't know when, but slowly, he did turn towards the Dark One in an attempt to get the power he thought was denied to him. With forbidden magic and a dark ritual he created seven magical objects, murdering an entire village for that.” His head shot back towards them. “You've seen them already. They were locked in Hamunaptra too, and your friends died because they set them free.”

Joey's face was green now, and Yugi was also feeling his stomach rebel. The golden items, the ones Zorc had hunted… They were made from dead people? That…was surprisingly fitting with everything that ever had anything to do with Zorc and Hamunaptra. He still got nightmares from the mummies jumping out of the reliefs, but…still… 

Atem kept talking, his voice low and far away, as if he was telling the story to himself, and not Yugi and Joey. “He used the items to call Zorc into this world, to open a pathway for him. His goal was either to rule the world, or destroy it if he couldn't. But the attempt failed, and he got stopped even if the prize…” His voice broke at this point, and it took a moment before he continued, his breath still shaking. “Was too high. And you already know what happened to Zorc afterwards.”

Yugi let out a slow breath. “The Homdai.” Zorc was sealed inside Atem, and both of them had been buried in Egypt’s holiest and most secure city, never to rise again. Clearly fate had had some fun with that. 

For a moment nobody said anything, while over them the stars slowly passed by. Yugi was the first to break the silence. “And now he's making another attempt with the Scorpion King.” 

Atem looked towards him and nodded. “He wants to free the Dark One again, and use him to kill the Scorpion King and take control of the armies of the underworld.” Again there was a slight tilt of his head. “Though I'm not sure why he isn't satisfied with just freeing the Dark One and letting him finish the world off. Saves an unnecessary step. Though maybe he just doesn't want a repeat of last time.”

Joey's head flew up. “Yeah, That reminds me. You are clearly awake, walking and talking and all that. But your passenger is not? Didn't he read out of the book and all that?” That nobody else, himself included, had thought to ask this question before was pretty fucking careless in his opinion. For all they knew their mummy friend could turn on them at any second. 

The mask turned towards him, and Joey suppressed a shiver. With the story they had just heard and the sudden reminder that he actually could be facing old man Zorc for a second time, that fucking thing looked even worse than before. 

“That's not enough. The Book of the Dead makes us…alive again, for the lack of a better term, but parts of the Dark One are still missing. If he wasn't weakened in any way, it would be impossible for anyone to hold him. The seven items my uncle created to call him now bind him. If the chest containing them is opened, the seal weakening him is broken and he will be free, bound to hunt those who freed him down to restore himself.”

Yugi chirped up. “So basically, as long as the chest is still untouched, we are fine.” 

Joey just looked at his friend. “That's not fine. Not at all. Do you even know where the chest is? It could be opened at any fucking moment!” 

Yugi just shrugged. “Don't worry, Isis is keeping it locked up at the Museum in Cairo. Nobody even knows it’s there, and it's almost impossible to find it. You know how much of a mess everything there is.” 

Yeah, Joey did. However he did not find that reassuring in the slightest. Yes, there was no chance in hell he was going to close his eyes tonight.

When the sun began to rise over the horizon, the train was still hurtling along the track, straight across the desert. They hadn't stopped once since they had left Cairo, and Jaden had to try and find whatever snatches of sleep he could. He was curled up on a seat only barely softer than a wooden bench, shaken by the constant moving of the train like he was some sort of cocktail, and watched by his new guard who clearly didn't even know such concepts as sleep or non-creepy friendliness existed. Safe to say he wasn't in the best of all moods even without the whole kidnapping and probably dying in five…four days thing going on. And unfortunately for his guard, he was locked in this carriage with Jaden, who even on his best tempered days was something of a minor torture for everyone’s nerves.

“Are we there yet?” 

“No.” Hirutani was looking out of the window, one arm flung over the back of his seat, the other laying on the table in front of him. Jaden was sitting opposite of him, eyes locked on him, and Kuriboh hovering invisible over his shoulder. 

“Are we there yet?” 

“No” Hirutani shifted in his seat. 

“Are we there yet?” Jaden had a lot of practice in this game, and he also had a certified talent for annoying people; nearly everyone whom he had ever met could attest to that. That guy didn't stand a chance. 

“Are we there yet?” 

“No” 

“Are we there yet?” 

“No.” 

“Are we there yet?”

Jaden had repeated this question since the moment he had opened his eyes in the morning, when he had given up even the pretence of finding any sleep any time soon. And he could keep this up the whole day long.

“Are we there yet?” 

“No.” 

“Are we there yet?” 

“No.” 

“Are we there yet?”

His fingers were thrumming a rhythm on the table too, perfectly in synch with the one his watcher was thrumming at the moment. The first sign of cracking already, and it hadn't even been two hours yet. That made him a pretty weak opponent for Jaden.

“Are we there yet?” 

“No.” 

“Are we there yet?” 

“No.” 

“Are we there yet?” 

“No.”

The ‘nos’ were sounding more and more pressed, the anger burning through each word. Jaden gave Hirutani at maximum twenty seconds till he cracked.

“Are we there?” 

“No.” 

“Are we there?” 

“No.” 

Are we there?” 

“No!”

With the last word Hirutani flipped around and a dagger buried itself halfway into the table, directly between Jaden’s forefinger and middle finger, so close that the blade touched both of them. Jaden gazed at the blade, wide eyes and open mouthed. That…that had been really close. 

“That was amazing.” He looked up at his captor, who was glaring at him like he wanted to put the dagger somewhere else, preferably Jaden’s mouth. “Perfect aim!” 

Hirutani's grasp around the dagger tightened, and he leaned forward to stare directly into Jaden's eyes. “What are you talking about?” Every word came out in a barely controlled growl. “I missed.” With a sharp gesture he drew the dagger out of the table.

That shut Jaden right up. He stared ahead while Hirutani leaned back in his seat. Ok, yeah, he had assumed that the point had been to cut off his fingers. That was one of the reasons he had gushed over the aim after all. It still felt like a shock to hear it so casually confirmed. Though the guy really need to work on his aim. If that hadn’t been intended, he must have a really bad aim to miss all of Jaden’s fingers right there. 

Hirutani's fingers flew over the table again, tapping out a short rhythm. Jaden shot a glance towards his invisible friend, who shook himself quite resolutely. Yes, Jaden knew it was a bad idea, and it would probably cost him a finger now too… But damn it, the guy was such an easy target. It took longer to annoy Joey and Tristan; thought admittedly, with them he didn't really try to do it. It just happened. But even they had more patience than this guy, and Jaden had no intention of making his kidnapping easy for these cronies. They dragged Jaden with them, so they had to put up with him too.

So he mirrored Hirutani's finger-tapping.

For a second Hirutani's fingers stopped and he glanced over to Jaden, who made sure to look the most innocent and unknowing he ever had in his life. Watching him, Hirutani thrummed another rhythm. Jaden copied him. And another. Jaden copied it too. And a third… Jaden copied it, and at that moment Hirutani flew out of his seat, dagger raised with a grimace of pure madness on his face, clearly intending to bury the dagger somewhere lethal.

Jaden leaned a bit back. “I have to go to the bathroom.” He himself was surprised how level his voice sounded, even as his heart skipped a beat. Kuriboh buried itself into his shoulder, clearly trying to hide. Hirutani stopped mid-motion, clearly torn between the wish to still finish Jaden off and be done with, and the knowledge that they still needed him alive. The knowledge won, as he, with the promise of death in his eyes, lowered the dagger. 

“Then come on.” He stood up, and grabbed Jaden by the collar to drag him behind him.

Jaden was shoved through a small door at the end of the carriage, with Hirutani stepping up behind him. “Make it quick.” Hirutani leaned against the door frame. 

Jaden, looking at his new surroundings, decided that this cabinet was enough to convince him that, even if he really needed a bathroom break now, he never needed a toilet again. Ever. This place probably hadn't been cleaned up since Ramses II.

On the walls next top the toilets handprints and dragging marks were visible, and a suspiciously brown colour and thick consistency. A newspaper, at least ten years old given the date visible, with only a few leaves still in place, hung half-hazardly from the mount for the toilet paper, and the toilet itself…no, he didn't even want to look at it that closely. The buzzing of flies around the whole scene really was just icing on the cake.

Jaden turned back to face Hirutani, an unbelieving look on his face, as if he couldn't believe he expected him to complete his business here. He really couldn't believe that, but that was not the point now. Time to get rid of that annoyance. Hirutani shoved him against the toilet seat. “Hurry up.” 

Jaden looked back and grabbed the newspaper. “Hey, reading material!” That was not what this was for, and they both knew it. Still, he was taking every distraction he could get. 

Hirutani remained, as expected, completely unimpressed. “Now!” 

Jaden jumped up from where he stood and flew around. That guy really was unstable, wasn't he? Maybe he should tone down his tricks; there was a chance the guy would really forget that he and his friends needed him alive and just skin him right there and then.

Dutifully he stepped towards the toilet seat and bent down to lift it, only to look back up and level Hirutani with the most mistrustful gaze he was capable of. He admitted that it probably wasn't that impressive. Hirutani leaned back against the doorframe, and folded his arms across his chest. 

Jaden raised his head trying to look at least a bit impressive. “I can't go if someone’s watching.” Actually, he didn't know if he could; he had never been in such a situation before, as far as he could remember. But he also had no intention of figuring that out.

For a moment Hirutani just held his gaze, and Jaden was afraid the guy would just ignore what he said, before he turned his back towards Jaden, eyes rolling. Yes, halfway to victory and freedom already! Now for the last part…

“I don't trust you.” Well, that was true, he didn't; he didn't trust this guy not to kill him. “You'll look.” 

Hirutani turned his head back towards him, clearly not believing what he had just heard and probably considering if killing Jaden now would save him a couple more days of this. Jaden held his gaze, trying to look mistrustful and angry and not like he still wasn’t sure if he had or hadn’t crossed the invisible line of that guy’s hardly-existing-patience still keeping him alive.

And then the miracle happened: With one last look full of disgust towards Jaden, Hirutani stormed out of the cabinet and threw the door shut behind him. Jaden nearly sagged towards the floor in relief. He had no illusions that Hirutani wasn't waiting right in front of the door for him, and that he had only a limited amount of time before he returned, but for the moment he was just glad to be rid of him.

He flew around, and grabbed the metal bars running over the window, trying to tear them down. If he could get rid of them, there was only a thin wooden plate in the window between himself and freedom. But even if everything in this cabinet looked like it would collapse if you looked at it wrong, the bars didn't move even a millimetre. Of course those were the only new things in here. 

“Darn.”

Turning back towards the toilet Jaden lifted the lid, which was covered with a greased layer of grime. Entire bacteria civilisations had made their home there, with quite a few still unknown to science too, if he could hazard a guess. Jaden stared down the drain in dismay. God, this was even worse. And the smell... 

"Doesn't anyone know how to flush a toilet around here?” Look, he did know that you weren't supposed to flush down the toilet paper, because the pipes, likely installed before Napoleon had ever set foot in this country, couldn't take it. That was normal. But here, it looked like nobody had every flushed since the toilet had first been built.

He pulled the lever, and looked at how everything got sucked down…directly onto the tracks. Jaden bowed forward, eyes wide. This…oh yes, he could use that. Throwing the lid shut, he grabbed the toilet seat, trying to ignore everything it was covered in, and dragged. He hardly needed any force to tear it off, proving his suspicions about the general state of this cabinet and the whole train. Shoving it aside, he now had a clear look at the tracks hurling past underneath them, still going way too fast, even if the hole was now big enough,

“Kuri!” Kuriboh pointed at a cord just a few centimetres above his head, and without hesitation, he pulled. The train stopped abruptly, and Jaden was already through the hole and running when the door flew open behind him and an angry scream filled the air.

The remains of the Ram Sphinx Alley, halfway buried in the sand, flew past him, as he made for the entrance between the two gigantic statues lining the first pylon. Karnak. And within it, the main temple of Amun-Re, the most important temple complex of the New Kingdom. He had reached his first destination.

It probably would have impressed him more, like it usually did when he saw it, if the warriors which had ridden on the train’s roof hadn’t been so busy shooting at him. It took all he had to dodge the bullets that rained down around him. The shots were so loud he could barely hear anything, keeping his eyes focused on the statues’ feet, knowing he would be safe if he could reach them, if he could disappear into the Hypostyle Hall and find cover there. He just had to keep focused on that, to keep running, to not look back.

Then the shots abruptly stopped, and Jaden—still running, still not daring to turn back—heard surprised screams behind him. He reached the feet, turning sharp right and just as he threw himself into the safety of the cover they provided. Then he saw two guards flying through the air, hurled by some unseen force towards the statues. With a loud crack their backs collided with the statues’ legs, one for each statue. As their lifeless bodies fell to the floor Jaden saw the man who had talked with him yesterday standing in the doorway of the train, slowly lowering his eyes and glaring at him. It was the last thing Jaden saw before he disappeared into the safety of the temple.

The columns of the Hypostyle Hall flew past him as he dashed through it, hardly sparing a glance left and right. Truth to be told he didn't even know where he was running, or if he could even escape somewhere. The city of Luxor was nearby, true, and he could probably disappear somewhere in those streets, but…but somehow he doubted that he could even reach the city’s limits before someone caught up with him, no matter how close they were.

He jumped through a collapsed wall, trying not to stumble over the stones lying around. When he heard nothing behind him anymore—no shouts, no flying footsteps behind him— he stopped, slowly catching his breath. Screw being caught before the city limits; if he couldn't even keep up running that long, he wouldn't even make it out of the temple.

Jaden was slowly looking up, ready to run again, when suddenly his right arm was jerked forward. The bracelet was lifting it on its own. Jaden stumbled, nearly tumbling into the sea on whose shore he had found it. Most temples had a holy lake somewhere, and Karnak’s seemed to have survived the destruction and decay of the rest of the temple. Pity he couldn’t appreciate it. 

The lightshow from the bracelet formed into a picture again. The very temple he was now standing in, only returned to its old glory, was shimmering over the surface of the lake. Then the picture zoomed out again, as if Jaden had been thrown across the desert on full speed over the river and the desert again, without any time to catch any possible landmarks. It went on for a couple of seconds, before the journey stopped as abruptly as it began, and Jaden found himself staring at a beautiful temple, standing alone on an island. He squinted his eyes, trying to capture the temple's looks to his memory. Something about it seemed awfully familiar; he was sure he had seen it once before, not like this, and definitely not in real life, but maybe in a picture at the museum? If he only could remember the name…

Suddenly the illusion rippled, like someone had thrown a stone into the water, and Jaden could hear Kuriboh screaming next to him, as if to warn him of something. The illusion disappeared, right as a figure walked through it, straight over the water of the holy lake. The man in red. 

Jaden stumbled back, and needed a second too long to try and start running again. Just as he turned, an invisible force grabbed him and lifted him up into the air, hovering at least a meter over his usual height, and high enough to look the man directly into the eyes. The man lowered his arm, and for a moment Jaden heard again the guards backs’ breaking against the entrance statues. 

But the man just shook his head. “Really? You thought it would be that easy?”

Admittedly, Karnak by night was a fantastic view. The light of the torches made the old ruins glow, and under the starlight and the dark night sky, Jaden could imagine how it must have been two-thousand years ago: a sacred place where only priests and kings and gods walked. Even the noise from the camp outside fit the mood, the murmuring and indistinguishable shouts almost sounding like chants in the cold night air. Too bad that he had to experience that with one leg chained to a metal rod pushed deeply into the sand. It really killed the whole mood.

Frustrated Jaden jerked at the chain, testing out his movement. A meter radius, that that was all he had. Not really helpful. 

“Don't even think about it.” The harsh voice behind him made him flinch, and he turned around to see Hirutani walking towards him, anger burning in his eyes. Jaden gulped. His guard was clearly still mad at him for his little escape stunt earlier. Really, that guy had some serious anger management issues.

Jaden dashed back, as far away as he could from the approaching men, which, given the pitiful length of his chain, wasn't that much. But when Hirutani had nearly reached him, he jerked his hand upwards. “Wait a moment, partner.” The bracelet shimmered in the torchlight, the flickering shadows giving the two-headed scorpion an almost threatening look. “You still need me, remember?” With the most beautiful smile possible, Jaden looked up at Hirutani. Maybe it was a bad idea to keep pushing his buttons, but really, what did he have to lose? As long as he wore the bracelet, he was safe. And afterwards… Well, Jaden was pretty sure they were planning to kill him either way, so he might just as well get his revenge beforehand. In for a penny, in for a pound.

Hirutani stopped, looking at the bracelet with a strange glint in his eyes. For a moment he looked almost calm, which scared Jaden more than the clear anger on his face earlier. Then he bent down to look Jaden directly in the eye, a small smile on his face. “I'll enjoy killing you when the time comes.” His voice was soft, barely more than a pleasant breath, and together with the calm look on Hirutani's face, it was the most frightening feature Jaden had ever seen. Still he managed to raise his hand, without the slightest shaking even, and patted Hirutani's shoulder. 

“Oh I know. But until then”—if the guy hadn’t looked murderous before, he clearly was doing so now—“you better be a little nicer to me.” He glanced around Hirutani, ignoring the glare that probably would be enough to kill most people on sight alone. “Now where is my water?”

Hirutani stood up, and Jaden could almost feel him drawing in a deep breath, feel how much self-control it took him not to end Jaden right then and there. With a harsh gesture, he shoved a clay jar at Jaden. He only caught it just in time, spilling at least a third of the water on himself. They were in the middle of the desert; being that careless with water was more than a waste. He looked up to see Hirutani stalking off, and couldn't resist to press his buttons one more time, to see just how far he could push him. 

“No ice?!” As if that would have been possible here.

Hirutani stopped mid-movement, as if frozen on the spot. For a moment Jaden thought he had pushed too far, that Hirutani would turn around and cut his throat right now, consequences be damned. Instead he just continued walking, leaving Jaden alone chained at the base of a sphinx. Perfect.

Jaden waited another few heartbeats, till the only sounds he could hear were the far off noises of the camp, and till Kuriboh had fluttered over the entrance to this part of the temple to keep watch. Then, when his invisible friend nodded, giving him to all clear, he turned around and ran to the base of the statue. It wasn't the best hiding place, not even a particularly good one, but it was the best he could reach. And while he knew it was necessary, he still had to fight down the guilt as he turned the jar over and spilled every last drop of water into the sand. Water was life, worth more than gold in the desert. To spill it like that… Nevermind, right now he needed it for something else. And he could deal with his thirst till it was safe enough to pester Hirutani for more. Just more reasons to annoy him. 

Carefully he gathered a handful of wet sand to begin his work.

They landed at Karnak mid-morning, when Ra was already climbing towards the highest point of his journey. Joey and Yugi were the first ones out of the ship, while Duke was still busy trying to secure it on the ground, making a straight dash to the temple. Seth and Tristan, hardly a second behind them, turned towards the train standing alone on the tracks before its entrance. Tea and Ryou followed a bit slower, keeping an eye on their surroundings for any sign of movement. And Atem himself walked last, almost as if in a daze.

It…maybe he should have expected that. Maybe it shouldn't have been such a shock. Not after everything, not after looking at the pyramids, who, while still standing, had lost some of their glory, the white stones lining their outside gone and still… They still had survived…

But this temple… 

He could still see the temple as it had been when he closed his eyes, the royal barque softly gliding over the waters towards the entrance of the temple; the walk up towards the precinct of Amun-Re, lined with the ram sphinxes symbolizing the god protecting this temple; the darkness of the Hypostyle Hall filled with the scent of incense and the soft murmuring of the priests fulfilling the rituals… He had walked here so many times, had always felt a sense of calm when he had stepped into the building…as if nothing could touch him here, as if everything going on outside those halls simply ceased to matter.

But the outside world had touched the temple. Opening his eyes he could see the Sphinx Alley destroyed figures halfway-buried in the sand, heads broken off, some just laying around, some completely gone, cracks running through their bases. The canal leading up from the river had completely disappeared, the roof of the Hypostyle Hall had collapsed, its columns broken down… The greatest temple in Kemet, home of Amun-Re and Mut and their son Chons had been completely destroyed. Looking at it felt like someone had pushed a dagger straight into his heart.

It was like a slap in the face, a remainder just how much time had passed, how little he belonged here… Atem knew that there were more important things to focus on: the kidnapped boy, the Dark One still lurking in his thoughts, his uncle working to wake both the Dark One and the Scorpion King. This shouldn't have mattered; in the end it was nothing, just stone and sand and yet… He still couldn't move.

From far away, he could hear voices, the Medjay calling out, “They've gone. We've lost them.” And he even realised how bad that was, that they had lost their only chance to save the boy and stop his uncle and yet it seemed so far away. So unreal, just like a bad dream. Something moved just outside his vision. 

“Hey. Is…everything all right? You're standing here like a statue.” The voice was soft and familiar, and Atem's head shot up, to look directly into Heba…Yugi, that was his name now, he should try to remember…into Yugi's worried eyes. 

He looked tired, shaken, and there was despair clearly visible in his eyes. Still he was looking at Atem like he was expecting an answer, like they didn't all have more important things to worry about. So Atem nodded, somehow even succeeding at forming a couple of words. “Yes. It's just… It's been a surprise to see this temple like that.” He sounded surprisingly calm, even for his own eyes. 

Yugi nodded. “I can imagine.” His eyes darted off, the worry still there, and a slight sting hurled through Atem. Here he was hurting over something he should have come to terms with ages ago, because he had known that the world would move on without him, and Yugi was wasting time with him instead of their actual problem. He needed to get it together, right now.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and focused. The shadows answered his call. His mind rushed through the parts of the temple, the train, everywhere shadows touched and reigned, on the hunt for a hint, a trail, anything that could probably be useful. He could feel the Dark One rising in his mind, pushing against his boundaries. His own breathing became shallower and shallower, his concentration faltering, small amounts of pain rising through his body. 

But he pushed it down and ignored it. That didn't matter. His grief for the past didn't matter; his problems with his magic, with the part of him that should have always been his own, didn't matter. If there was even the slightest hint, the slightest chance, that there was something here that could help them move on, he had to find it. Because this couldn't be the end. It couldn't just end here. He wouldn't allow it.

His gaze almost darted past it, just a small, strange rise in the sand. It was easy to ignore, and yet something made him stop and look. And then Atem's eyes flew open, a triumphant smile on his lips, even as he felt the Dark One’s angry hiss in his mind as the magic stopped and he was pushed back down again. Not today. He wasn't going to win today. 

He turned back towards Yugi, who was still watching him, looking just a bit more worried than before, which wasn't something Atem had thought possible.

“Are…are you still there?” It was this question from Yugi that made him realise that Yugi probably had tried to talk to him in the meantime, and he hadn't heard a single word. 

Atem shot him an apologetic smile, knowing fully well that Yugi couldn’t see it behind the mask. “After the Hypostyle Hall to the right, almost next to the sacred lake… I think your friend left us a message.” It could be nothing else.

That was… Yugi wasn't going to pretend that this wasn't worrisome. First Atem had just been standing there, unmovable as if he himself had just been one of the statues of this temple, just staring at Karnak. That still made sense; seeing it in this state must have been quite a shock. Yugi could hardly imagine what the temple had looked like in its heyday, but it definitely had been different from what it was now. And then Atem had just stopped reacting to him, not saying anything, just nothing… 

Honestly, Yugi had almost feared that the worst had happened, that someone had opened the chest with the items, and he was already facing Zorc right now. 

…He still wasn’t quite sure that this wasn't the case right now, to be honest. 

But what Atem had said…it sounded confusing, it sounded strange, and Yugi had no idea where the hell he had pulled that knowledge from. He still only looked at Atem for a heartbeat before he flew around and ran inside the temple, towards the place Atem had described. Because damn it, if this was a trap by Zorc, Yugi didn't care. This was a slight sliver of hope, and he would be damned if he didn't grasp it. If there was any chance they could still catch up—that they hadn’t lost everything, that they hadn’t failed Jaden, and quite likely also the world—he was going to take it.

Behind him he could hear Joey call his name, could hear footsteps behind him, but he ignored that. He only slowed down when he reached the holy lake, out of breath and heart beating so loudly it was thrumming in his ears, a constant rhythm-maker for his thoughts: Please be there. Please something be there. 

And it was.

“Guys, here is something!” He was already calling out as he ran again towards a metal rod rammed straight into the sand, with a small chain bound towards it, and the tie—which Jaden had always hated, but which he had worn the night he was kidnapped—slung around the finger of a statue. Yugi grabbed it, tearing it off the statue, and stopped, as he saw what lay now directly at his feet.

Behind him footsteps hurried near. He could hear the clicking of weapons, Tea calling his name, and then everyone came around the cornerL Joey, Tristan and Seth with their weapons drawn; Tea and Ryou slightly behind; and Atem last, gliding along like a shadow. Yugi barely paid them any attention; he was too busy grinning down at the sand at his feet like he had found Tanis itself there. 

“Jaden left us his tie.” He was still grinning as he knelt down, Joey and Seth left and right of him, the others forming a circle around them. “And he built us a sandcastle.” 

Clever, clever boy. His eyes glided almost reverently over the structure in front of him, a small, astonishingly detailed replica of a temple on an island. Yugi touched it softly, brushing off some sand. He hadn’t even known Jaden had such an artistic talent, but it was detailed enough that he could clearly identify it. “It's the Temple Island of Philae.” All the way down at the first cataract…well, hopefully it wasn't currently underwater. Since the dam construction, that tended to happen worryingly often. 

Still, it was fitting, in a strange way, with it being one of Isis’ most important temples and the island thought to be Osiris’ burial place. They were following Egypt’s most important gods and its most sacred places. Also, with nobody but priests allowed to visit there, it was a secure place to hide the next step in this scavenger hunt. 

He stood up and grinned at his friends, almost glowing when he looked at Atem, who had, somehow, found this. “They are going to Philae.”

From then on it felt almost easy. Jaden left a clear trail of breadcrumbs or sand buildings for them, and with each one Yugi felt more optimistic and jubilant. Maybe…maybe they could succeed at this. When they landed in Philae, which luckily was at the moment standing proud and tall above water, they found Jaden’s jacket covering a miniature of Ramses II. The Temple of Abu Simbel. Seth wrote that down, sending out Horus with a message for his tribe leaders, and they were off again.

Abu Simbel had been the place were Ramses II had constructed a temple which while supposedly honouring Amun, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah, in reality mostly honoured Ramses II himself as a god. Yugi had to smile every time he looked at it; the way it was built and decorated a gigantic puzzle pointing to Ramses II for anyone who could read it right. Still, it was clever, which he could always appreciate, and worshipping three creator gods it again fit perfectly into their own puzzle hunt. They were getting close to their destination; he could feel it. It wouldn't take long now.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

They had been riding through the desert for a while now, the sun burning down on them mercilessly, even as it already drew closer to the horizon. Jaden was glad he had left his jacket behind earlier because if he hadn’t, he would have chucked it aside now. So he could almost enjoy the ride: the soft up and down movements of his camel; the book he was reading; even the occasional glance at a couple of ruins when they passed them by, wondering where they had come from and what they might have been once upon a time. It almost felt like a holiday. Because he was sure his hints worked. Yugi and the others had to follow him; they had to find them. And in the meantime he could just enjoy the ride. As far as he was concerned, everything was fine.

Shadi was riding in the middle of the group. It was impossible to say what drew his eyes in that moment—what made him turn his head at just the right time, if it had been fate, coincidence, bad luck, or the will of the gods—but he looked up at just the right moment to see a small dot of white cross the sky. He narrowed his eyes. It was moving too fast to be a cloud, soaring high above the desert and…falcons weren't that rare in Egypt, or in Sudan for that matter, but this one…

“Horus.” The name was a curse on his lips.

The falcon continued on its way, long after the caravan had disappeared behind him, swooping low only when he caught sight of the group he was looking for. Malik raised his hand, and it landed there gracefully, letting him take the message from the metal capsule tied at its feet. Malik glanced over it, reading their next destination and nodded softly. It wouldn't take much longer now; the seven days allotted to them were almost at a close, and he wouldn’t pretend that he wasn't nervous about what lay ahead, no matter how calm he looked on the outside. Two more nights and one day in-between them, and then the Scorpion King would rise, and they would face his army. Something nobody had ever survived.

But then they had survived the Dark One’s reawakening too, and that had been thought to be impossible too, so he was choosing to be optimistic about this catastrophe too. A nearly unkillable army of demons at least sounded like more fun than a mob of the living dead. 

He caressed Horus, who preened under his touch, and lifted his hand to let the bird fly again, back towards its master. Only when it was in the air again did he he point forward, giving the signal for all of them to move again.

The twelve chiefs were the first in line, but behind them and next to the dune they had been standing on, their hosts of warrior rode too: a flood of people, enough to turn the desert black. For the first time in history, the tribes of the Medjay were turning out in full force. Malik could only hope it would be enough.

The sun was setting again, turning the sky into a kaleidoscope of reds, oranges, violets and navy. Beyond this last vestiges of the day, Joey could see the first stars of the night appear, nothing but faint twinkling lights. They were still moving too slow. Each hour, each minute that passed, brought the rise of the Scorpion King closer, and was another possible nail in Jaden's coffin. At this point it was a question of hours rather than days. His right hand gripped the sceptre tightly. If it was the only weapon they had… Fuck, they were truly screwed.

A small, dark shadow whisked past him, nearly colliding with his head, the warning screech coming almost a second too late. Joey jumped back, and turned his head to glare as Horus landed on Seth's raised hand, looking much too pleased with himself for a bird. Fucking hell, even the bird hated him. Why the hell was he even surprised anymore?

Seth looked up, gently petting the damned bird, and Joey was sure that bastard was hiding a grin. Yeah, this was so fucking funny. He didn't know what did it in the end—the grin, the scare with the bird; his worry about Jaden, the whole fucking mess with Hirutani; the fact that they flew towards certain death armed with only a fucking golden stick; that his fucking tattoo almost seemed to burn in his skin now, even if it didn't do anything, a constant reminder not only about his own vow to be better than before, but about Seth's tribe, about another duty he could scarcely even grasp, but which somehow, even if he didn't want it and Seth clearly didn't think he deserved it, he still seemed to feel responsible now; everything…

But suddenly he couldn't look at him anymore. Any second longer and he would either hurl up the last thing he had eaten, straight over the edge of this fucking boat, or he would punch Seth, and as satisfying as that surely would be, it also wouldn't do to knock out one of their warriors before battle.

He flew around and stormed past Seth, not even throwing a glance at him. Straight into the only cabin at board, Joey threw the door shut behind him. He leaned against it, his whole body shaking, grasping the sceptre with both hands now so tightly as if it were his lifeline. Fuck. Fuck. He couldn't…he just couldn't deal with this anymore. Fuck.

Yugi stood at the bow of the ship, facing forward towards where the sun had just disappeared beyond the horizon when he heard the door fall shut behind him **. ** He turned his head, trying to see what was going on, but the deck was remarkably calm and peaceful. Seth was leaning against the rail, gently petting his bird’s head turned to look at the closed cabin door. Duke was still keeping them on course, speaking with Tristan, who was waiting nearby to take over when Duke went to catch some sleep. On the second day of the journey, Duke had volunteered Tristan for this duty, since he, in his own words, couldn’t fly this ship in his sleep, and Tristan had been unlucky enough to be the one closest to him when he decided that. So he had gotten a crash course on how to fly. Tea and Ryou were already asleep, curled up on the deck, and Atem… Yugi was relatively sure he had never slept even once on this journey. Admittedly, the mask made it a bit hard to tell, but if he had slept, he must have done this sitting up. Currently he was sitting on the starboard side of the ship, head turned to watch the landscape passing by underneath them. For once everything was truly silent on the ship.

Yugi turned his head back towards the front, towards the goal of their journey. Even though the sun had barely set, the night air was already turning cold, making him shiver slightly. They had long passed the current borders of Egypt, and were well into Sudan now, the Nubia of old. During different parts of Egypt’s history, this land had been Egyptian territory, but the relations between the two counties, and the discussion of which territory belonged to whom, hadn’t been entirely without conflict. Somehow it made sense that Ahm Shere should lay hidden in the deserts of this country—territory long fought over and fiercely independent. Even the British had gotten beaten back from there for a while. It hadn’t lasted for long, but still…

Yugi threw his arms around himself. They were so close. The Scorpion King, Jaden… They had to catch up with the kidnappers tomorrow, and now, so close to Ahm Shere, he was suddenly feeling afraid in a way he hadn't felt when it had come to Hamunaptra. That had felt like familiar territory, almost like coming home, no matter how dangerous and cursed the city was. This felt different, more hostile, as if something was already watching them, waiting for them to arrive; a predator lurking in the shadow.

He didn't know if anyone would listen, but as he watched the landscape disappear behind the darkness of the night, one thought alone still existed in his head _ : please, don't let us be too late. Please, if you can help us…anyone… _

The night wind picked up again, stronger this time, shifting from the fresh wind from before to a warm, thoughtful breeze, carrying the whole warmth of the desert with it and shifting the clouds in front of the ships like fog. It felt familiar, like the vision in the temple, like the short touch of wind before the moment in the museum. This time Yugi leaned forward to watch closely as something moved inside the clouds…

Two people stood inside a courtyard, with two meters between them, backs to each other, axes raised over their heads with their right hands and copesh in front of them in their left hands. The midday sun was burning down, turning the day’s heat almost unbearable, and tinting the courtyard with a lazy stillness. Nothing moved; no other living thing was even there, save for the two men: one younger, one older, both of them wearing shefti and sandals, with hardly any additional decorations or jewellery, save for the masks covering both their faces. The mask of the younger one was shaped like a Seth animal, so black that it seemed to absorb even the light of the merciless sun, while the older man wore a golden falcon head over his face. Something about that almost seemed familiar, like a half forgotten memory…or that picture in the forgotten Seth Temple…

They remained in their positions a couple of heartbeats longer, and then, as if by some unheard signal, they turned around at the same time, and their weapons clashed. It was like watching a dance, like every step they took followed an unheard rhythm. Again and again metal clashed against metal, a deadly dance without audience, without end. The younger one had the obvious advantages of speed and energy, but the older one hardly ever let him use it—for most of the time, the younger one was on the defence, and after a few rounds around the courtyard, blocking and parrying, the one with the falcon mask made a fast step, swiping his leg and spinning round. He brought his axe down so that the other fighter, while dodging this strike, stumbled and fell down in the sand. 

Again nobody moved for a couple of moments before the one wearing the Seth mask lifted it over his head and Yugi was looking into his own face. It should have surprised him, maybe even shocked him, but even as Yugi's mouth slightly opened, he still didn't feel all that different. As if he had known all along that it would be him. And maybe he had known. It wasn't the first time he had watched someone who looked like his past self after all.

The man with the falcon mask stepped forward towards Yugi on the ground, and while he still held his sword ready to defend himself, he raised his mask with his other hand too. Again, seeing Aknadin looking down was hardly a surprise, more like the confirmation of something he had already known without really knowing it.

Aknadin squinted down at Yugi, a wretched frown on his face. “We are not finished yet. Put your mask back on.” Yugi took a deep breath, and for a second he was surprised at the look he caught in his own face, dislike or distrust. He had every reason not to be a particular fan of Atem's uncle, but clearly his past self had shared that view.

With a fast gesture, the Yugi in the past jumped to his feet and the fight continued. For a while they seemed almost evenly matched, and the other Yugi actually could drive Aknadin back for a couple of times. But in the end, they ended up in a similar position again, with Yugi on the ground looking up at Akanadin, only this time with his copesh at his throat. It was slightly annoying, to be honest.

For a few seconds neither moved, and then a smile, which sadly didn't look too kindly, crossed Aknadin’s face. “You are learning fast, High Priest. I'll have to watch my back.” He took a step back, giving Yugi the space to get up again. Yugi just continued to glare up at him. 

“True. And I'll watch mine.” 

An unreadable look crossed over Aknadin's face, and even when he laughed, he sounded forced. “As the High Priest of Seth, that should be your speciality, shouldn't it?” 

Yugi's face froze for a second, anger clearly blazing in his eyes, and Aknadin continued, smiling. 

“After all, as the Keeper of Hamunaptra, and the Guardian of the Bracelet of Anubis, it would be terrible if something happened to you.” He watched as Yugi climbed to his feet, hand gripping his sword tightly.

The scene shifted, the fog moving again, letting courtyard and men disappear like a desert mirage. Yugi still stood there, almost frozen, watching as something else began to shimmer in the fog and the clouds lifted again…

This time it was night, even though Yugi couldn't be sure how he knew that, since he watched himself hurrying down a set of stairs in a long, dark tunnel, far away from any source of natural light which would have indicated which time of day it was. But he knew it, just like he knew this tunnel, even as it shook and cracked around him, as if the knowledge was seared inside his very bones. Of course, even without that knowledge the tunnel was familiar, one Yugi had seen way too many nights in his regular dreams. The tunnels of Hamunaptra were definitely forever woven into his mind and nightmares.

The Yugi in the vision stumbled as the tunnel shook again, a hail of sand and pebbles raining down on him, as if the tunnel was in danger of collapsing any moment now. He was dressed differently than in the first vision, with a black coat lined with gold draped around him. A single torch in his hand lit his way. He righted himself, hurrying on, a look of fear on his face. He only stopped when he reached a doorway, again looking very familiar, and saw a figure standing there, waiting.

The other Yugi slowly took a step forward, and the figure turned, making the real Yugi back on the ship flinch in the first real surprise he had felt since the visions started. Atem stared back at him, dressed like he had appeared the first time Yugi had seen him in that dream in Hamunaptra. A white tunic, held together by three gold bands at his waist, from which a blue piece of cloth, framed by white linen, tumbled down. There was the purple coat, the golden necklace blinking out underneath it, and the bracelets covering his upper arms. Everything was the same. Only the confidence which he had always displayed—even, no especially in those last moments in Hamunaptra when he had shoved a dagger into his own heart to put Zorc down—was completely gone. He looked tired, defeated, his finely drawn face harried and pale. His red eyes, which had always been alive, burning with a hidden fire, were now dull and full of despair.

“Heba.” The barest hint of a smile tugged over Atem's lips when he saw Yugi, but it wasn't enough to completely drive the desperation in his face back, even if it made him, for just a second, look more like himself again. Yugi…or rather Heba in the vision, took another step forward, before he stopped. 

“Are you sure? This ritual…” He stopped interrupting himself. “We don't even know if it will work.” There was desperation in his own voice too, and when Atem now stepped towards him, Yugi could almost feel his old fear and worry and grief. 

“We don't have another option. Everything else has already failed. Besides”—and now Atem smiled, a true smile, lighting up his face and letting all traces of worry and hopelessness disperse, as he gently grasped Heba’s hands in his own—“I've got faith in you. You've never been wrong before.” 

The laughter that came out of Heba’s mouth was sounding desperate in Yugi's ear, even as a look of determination settled on his face. “Well, there's a first time for everything.” 

Atem's laughter rang down the corridor, even as it shook around them again. “It's not going to be this time.” He stepped back through the entrance, and Heba followed him, even as their hands untangled. 

Yugi only caught a flash of the embalming room at Hamunaptra, nothing more than the dark shapes of various people moving about, hurrying, before the fog descended again. The last image he saw—the last flash of the vision, before he found himself back on the ship, clutching the railing as if it was life line, silent tears streaming down his face—was of his own hand, slowly turning the key to Hamunaptra to seal the outer sarcophagus—Atem's and Zorc's last resting place under the statue of Seth—shut forever.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

Yugi blinked slowly, carefully lowering his hands from the railing. His breathing was heavier than usual, as if he had just ran a marathon, which was something that would never, ever happen, and he was still shaking. Slowly he lifted his hand to wipe away the last traces of tears from his eyes. Huh.

He felt exhausted, empty, but in a peaceful way, the way you usually did after a night of crying into your pillow, when peace won over and everything felt clean and new; after the necessary storm had passed. It made sense. It was painful, and confusing, but now everything made sense. The visions, the dreams, even those odd instances two years ago when he had found the way to Hamunaptra… Hell, even Zorc recognising him suddenly was absolutely logical. He took a deep breath, straightened himself up, and even smiled slightly, before he flew around and walked over the deck, straight towards Atem. He nearly ran over Joey, just emerging from the cabin, in his quest, dodging only at the last second, and turning his head to throw his friend one a quick, “Sorry.” 

The he built himself up in front of Atem, one piece at a time, hands folded over his chest.

“I was responsible for Hamunaptra?” That was...well, it was one of the many questions bouncing through his head, and not even the most important one, but it was the only one he currently felt able to deal with. Everything else—the fight with Aknadin, the implications of the last memory, the whole talk with Atem…especially the talk with Atem, oh god, he was freaking out just thinking about it—was something he needed more space and time to think about than they now had. This was not something which he wanted to realise right before the Scorpion King and the main disciple of Zorc together burned the world down, thank you. Not that he minded, but… Time. He needed time to think, because that was an emotional mess, and he would try to untangle it slowly, step by step, without it suddenly blowing up in his or anyone else’s face. Because it felt like an emotional bomb too, and…not now. Later. Breath after Breath. 

But this—this was one piece he could deal with now, a first step in that unwinding of this particular Gordian knot. And no, he wouldn't use a sword, thank you, Alexander. 

Yugi couldn't see Atem’s face, yet he could feel the surprise radiate off of him. Which, admittedly, could also come from Joey, who was still standing next to them in the doorway of the cabin, turning his head slowly from one person to the other. “Sorry, what?” 

Yugi tried to shoot Joey a calming smile. “I had another vision and …and I know it sounds like I'm losing my mind, but it was a lot more clearer than the last ones and…” Now his smile turned apologetic. “I think I was the high priest responsible for guarding both Hamunaptra and this bracelet, and I really would like to have that confirmed now.” At the last words he turned back towards Atem, who was still watching both of them silently. 

Then slowly Atem nodded. “I…yes, you were.” He sounded a bit shaken, and definitely surprised, which was a relief. Yugi beamed at him, just plain relieved to have at least this piece conformed, while next to him Joey sagged backwards against the cabin door.

“Great. Just fucking great.” He raised his head to glance up at Yugi. “But you are right, that does make sense. Who else but you would have been a fucking Egyptian priest once upon a time?”

Yugi shot him a playfully offended look. “Hey!” 

Joey just grinned, shrugging. “What? It's true.” He took a deep breath, and looked back at Yugi. “So that's the reason why we found the bracelet?” 

Yugi nodded. “Yes. I was its protector. Ah…” He turned back towards Atem. “That does mean both last time and this time I essentially…dug up the very things I once made sure would never be disturbed?” That…didn't sound all that great.

Atem nodded slowly. Yugi could almost see the kind of look his face must have had behind the mask. “Yes, that…would be accurate.” There was a hint of amusement in his voice, even if it sounded fond, and that Joey started to break down laughing at this moment didn't help either. 

Yugi looked over to his friend. “Thank you. Thank you very much, I needed to hear that now.”

Joey righted himself, still grinning over his whole face. “My pleasure. Come on, that really fits. And I definitely needed to hear something like that now.” He patted Yugi's back, clearly trying to lift his spirits up again. “Hey, at least it fits perfectly with how everything else is going down so far. And it makes you perfect for putting those things down again.”

“He is right.” Atem's thoughtful voice made both their heads turn towards him. “There is a fine line between coincidence and fate. Maybe there is a reason why their protector had to be the one to disturb them. I told you after all, the dead don't usually return to the living word.” 

Yugi just sighed as he looked at him. “That wasn't ominous at all.” He swore he could feel Atem's grin behind the mask, even as he returned it. Vaguely uplifting and ominous really could be the title of his memoirs after all.

Yugi slept better that night than he had the last couple of months, a deep, restful sleep devoid of any kind of dreams. He had started that day with a smile, and in the afternoon, when they were making their way through a canyon with the river rushing by underneath them, he was optimistic. Maybe everything would truly work out. They would find Jaden, safe and unhurt, and the Scorpion King wouldn't rise.

But even that optimism didn't keep him from noticing the shift in the air: a sudden silence, apart from the river's gurgling, as if the whole area around them was utterly devoid of any life. The air felt too heavy to breathe. Next to him, Tea shivered. “Do you guys feel that too?” 

Seth nodded, eyes rushing from left to right over the canyon’s trenches, while Ryou, Duke and Tristan lit the lanterns across the ship, even if the sun was still shining bright. 

“The oasis must be around here somewhere.” 

Joey sighed. “Don't worry guys, Jaden is smart. He's proven that.” He looked straight ahead, nodding to himself. “He'll leave us a sign.”

Cowering behind a rock, shielding him both from the relentless burning of the sun and the watchful glances of the nearby guards, Jaden was about to finish his last sign. It was far easier, and thus a lot faster to form than the others. No temples to build, no well-known monuments or buildings to copy, just an arrow pointing in the direction they would have to travel. The oasis was so close, any further assistance would be unnecessary.

He was lost in his work, in his own head, and worrying about the others. For the first time he allowed himself to think about the possibility that they weren't following slowly behind, that maybe they had never found the first sign, or any of the others; or maybe the temple he had built out of sand had been too generic so that they had went to the wrong one… He was afraid, for the first time since they had been at Karnak, now that they were so close to the oasis and his certain death with the next sunrise.

So he only heard Kuriboh’s warning trills too late, only looked up when his invisible friend was hurling himself at his head for at least the third time. He saw a foot descend and trample down his sign.

He jumped up, but it was too late. Hirutani was already grasping the collar of his shirt, his grip so tight Jaden had problems breathing. “Surprised to see me? Since you were so busy leaving breadcrumbs.” Black spots began dancing in front of his eyes, and Jaden was sure that he would pass out any second now, would die here, shortly before the oasis, before the sunrise which should have been his last. Hirutani's voice seemed to come from far away, so strangely calm, almost as if he was just chatting with Jaden while slowly strangling him to death.

Then suddenly the grip around his throat disappeared. Jaden hit the sandy ground with a loud thud, gasping for air to desperately to fill his lungs, eyes still squinted shut while Kuriboh cuddled close to his shoulder. When he looked up, Hirutani's head was looking towards Shadi, who was calmly strolling over to them. 

“Never mind the boy. He might have done us a favour, after all.” He stopped next to Jaden, eyes as cold and expressionless as ever. “Now his friends are in the perfect position to appreciate our little surprise.” 

For a second Hirutani just looked at Shadi, before a small smile spread over his face. It was the most frightening sight Jaden had ever faced in his life. “Finally.”

He bent down to grab Jaden by his jacket again, this time taking care not to strangle him, and dragged him a couple of steps away, towards the protection of the closest ravine.

They had been camping out on the lake at the end of the canyon for a while now, it having been the image Jaden had seen at Abu Simbel, the only one apart from the oasis itself which hadn’t been something man-made. And till now Jaden had almost appreciated it; with the calm waters and the shallow shore it almost was an oasis itself, if it hadn’t been lacking a few important details like trees. But now he could only watch with dread as far away from where he, Shadi and Hirutani stood, Hirutani's two companions from the temple walked towards the lakeshore, carrying the same chest Jaden had seen with them before.

Hirutani grinned down at him, as the man in red stepped towards them under the protection of the ravine. “My friends had to search a while before they found this chest, you know. Though the poor night guard who found them probably didn't appreciate their hard work at all. I almost thought I would never see it opened, and that after the show I was promised. Luckily you are going to be the only disappointment today.” He nodded towards the two men, who knelt down next to the chest and started to work around something on the lid. Jaden saw the glow of a crowbar lighting up as the sun caught the metal.

At the boat, Joey threw a last glance around at his friends. “Everybody ready?” A couple of nods, all with varying levels of determination answered him, apart from Seth who didn't deign to such a gesture. Great, that actually was calming him down a bit, because he didn't feel fucking ready at all. 

At the bow of the ship, Yugi turned towards Atem. “Everything all right?” Since their talk last night, as short as it was, Atem had kept his distance. Not in any obvious way, since he had always been more withdrawn into his own thoughts than not, but something in his movements seemed stiffer and more controlled. At least Yugi was hoping it was just him keeping his distance, and not any sort of decay still happening. 

Atem turned towards him, and nodded. “I'm fine. It's just…” He interrupted himself, and for a second Yugi was sure he would never continue, when he spoke again, more softly. “The Dark One is getting more restless, more…focused, the nearer we draw towards Ahm Shere.” He whispered the finals words, so Yugi hardly caught them. “He's looking forward to what lies ahead, and I don't like that feeling.”

Yugi blinked. “Oh.” That was both better and worse than he expected. At least he wasn't feeling awkward about last night’s talk, but really, he wasn’t sure if Zorc suddenly feeling happy was that much better. He took a step towards Atem, and leaned himself against the railing next to him you. “It probably doesn't help, not even as a distraction, but…about last night, my vision…” He could feel Atem's eyes on him, even while he was still busy looking down at the river. “When… Once everything is done, once Jaden is safe, and the world isn't in danger any more… There's something I would still like to talk about with you.” He turned his head slightly, to catch Atem looking at him. 

Slowly Atem nodded. “Of course.” There was a small pause of silence between them, and when Atem spoke again, his voice was almost unsure. “I'm looking forward to that.” 

Yugi smiled.

A loud crack echoed over the sand towards their hiding place, and Jaden watched, wide-eyed. He was unsure why he was afraid, only knowing that he was getting more and more scared every second, waiting for something—anything—to happen. 

Hirutani's two lackeys threw the chest open, the lid carelessly crashing into the sandy floor.

Atem's hands suddenly tightened around the railing gripping it, so hard that it splintered under his hands, whole pieces flying off. He bent forward with convulsions. Yugi made a step forward towards, him trying to see if he could help him in any way, but Atem shook his head, whole body shaking as if it might break down at any second. “N...no.. Don't…” Atem's voice was heavy, as if he had to force out every word. “Get...away…”

Somewhere behind them, Joey and the others must have caught notice that something was wrong. Joey appeared next to Yugi, hands on his weapon, while Yugi could hear the others hurrying around towards them too. 

“What's going on?” Yugi could just shrug at Joey's question. It had started so suddenly, he had no idea what… But that wasn't entirely true. He had a  _ very _ strong suspicion. He just didn't want it to be true.

Yugi could only watch in horror, taking a step back as Atem's body convulsed again, dragging Joey with him. There was nowhere to run, they were trapped on this boat and Atem… Atem was…no. No, that shouldn't happen. That  _ couldn't _ happen. But then Atem turned his head ever so slightly words them and forced out one last sentence. 

“He's coming.” 

With that, his form exploded into a flurry of wind and sand, a miniature storm taking place, coat and mask dissolving into shadow and dust. The last thing Yugi saw, before the sandstorm disappeared, was the torn, rotten face of the mummy grinning down at them from the sandstorm, full of glee and dark promises. Then the storm took flight, disappearing in the blue sky above them, and all that was left behind were a few sand corns slowly hitting the ground.

The storm came out of nowhere, descending onto Hirutani's lackeys like lightning strike. It engulfed them in seconds, and while their terrified screams filled the air, Hirutani took a step closer to the scene. He leant forward with a mad grin on his face, trying to catch every second. It was clear that he was enjoying this raucous display.

Jaden on the other hand felt sick. He couldn't see anything clearly through the storm, which was a blessing, because what he saw was enough: two human figures being lifted up in the air, screaming and twisting around in pain, and being turned around and around horizontally like a pig on a spit… And then the shapes began to shrink and shrivel, the screams getting higher and higher, hurling into one great crescendo and pain—only to cut off at once, leaving only the wind's howling. Jaden couldn't move, couldn't do anything but breathe, fast and panicked, as two empty, mummified husk were thrown out of the sandstorm. They crashed down into the sand, right in front of their feet. He was staring down at the clearly recognizable forms of the men who had haunted them in the temple, who had worked for Hirutani, who had been alive two seconds ago. 

And now they looked like they had been lying around in the British Museum’s mummy collection for years, and the whole world turned before his eyes, tinted with black spots. No… No… No…

Hirutani's mad laughter, full of delight, filled the air around him. Jaden barely heard him, barely felt him still grasping his shoulder, holding him still. Barely caught Kuriboh cuddling up to him, shaking too. His legs were shaking so much he could barely stand, his throat constricting. He hardly noticed the storm stopping in the middle of the lake, forming a single, human form, dressed in a black shefti, and a black coat thrown over his shoulders. 

Everyone around him knelt down, and Jaden was thrown down too, unable to stand any longer. The figure in the lake waded deeper into it, so that the water was now lapping over his hips. He raised his arms, only to bring them down with the crash of a gigantic wall of water, as high as the whole canyon. Raising his hands again and shoving them forward, the wall of water shot forward into the canyon at speeds impossible for its sheer mass alone. Jaden watched it disappear down the canyon and he slowly realised one detail: Anything caught between the walls of the canyon and that flood would be destroyed.

Silence filled the air after Atem's departure. Yugi was still staring at the sandcorns, at the place Atem had just stood seconds ago, hands shaking.

Tristan looked around slowly. “What the hell…?” 

Next to them, Joey shook his head. “Yugi, please, tell me that didn't mean what I think it means.” He didn't sound like he had much hope, and Yugi couldn't blame him. What had happened was pretty clear, so he just shook his head. 

“I'm sorry…” He didn't get any further before somewhere down the canyon a loud bang erupted, making all of them jump around.

The air suddenly changed, feeling even heavier than before. Far in the distance, a low grumbling began, becoming louder and louder every second. Yugi, Joey, Tristan and Tea slowly gathered around the bow of the ship, looking forward, as if seeing what the hell Zorc was sending after them now. Because that had to be Zorc; Yugi would have bet everything he owned on that, and nobody would have taken that bet because it was so obvious. 

Behind them Ryou grasped onto one of the many ropes connecting the balloon to the boat, tightening and checking as many of them as he could. Seth took a step towards the group at the bow, his falcon tilting its head sideways and stretching its wings nervously, ready to take off any second. Duke grasped the steering wheel tighter and ducked, shooting a concentrated look ahead. 

For a couple of seconds nobody spoke; hardly anyone dared to even breath louder, while the roaring and grumbling came closer and closer. Then suddenly Duke drew in a sharp breath and flew around, right as a gigantic wall of water came crashing towards them through the narrow ravine. He shot his head around towards the others. “Grab something to hold, this is going to be a wild ride!” 

The group at the bow turned around, right in time to see the water hurling towards them. A familiar face, mouth opened wide in an angry, triumphant scream, appeared in the smooth part of the water wall. Zorc. Really, that was almost his signature move at this point. He really liked to put his face into storms. But Yugi didn't have any chance to complain about that any further because then the face drew itself into a gigantic grin and the shock the last few moments had thrown them all into broke away with a snap.

Suddenly the whole ship became a flurry of movements. 

Seth raised his arm. “Horus, fly.” And the bird, the only one of them who had a higher chance of survival off the boat, lifted up from his arm and disappeared down the canyon ahead of the ship. 

Tristan hurried back towards Duke. “Come on, Duke, hard right. Starboard… I think it's starboard—you know what I mean!” He gestured wildly to the right, just as the face in the water opened its mouth and began to swallow them.

Duke just grabbed a lever to his left and jerked it down. “Ok guys, I hope you're ready.” There was a wide grin on his face, and the whole boat suddenly stuttered. Tristan looked down over the railing, catching a glimpse of actual flames jutting out from some sort of pipes beneath the ship, before it flew forward fast enough to throw him nearly down. They all stumbled back and the ship burst from the water wall, and the now decidedly angry looking face behind them. What the hell had Duke built into this ship...and why was he even surprised anymore?

Like a rocket, the ship shot forward, twisting around another corner in the canyon, following down a bigger sidearm, and then cutting another curve to go down a smaller gap again. The water was following them. Duke hurled the steering wheel around so fast the passengers were thrown from left to right to dodge it, but he wasn't fast enough to keep some part of the water wall from breaking over them, drenching them and the ship to the bone. 

But the main part broke behind them, too far away to do any major damage. Tristan climbed to his feet first, looking around to see Yugi clinging to the railing and slowly dragging himself upwards. Joey clung to a rope, shaking the water out of his head. Tea clung to different rope, but hardly looked worse for the wear. Seth carefully rose too, looking back the way they had came for more danger. And poor Ryou was completely tangled up in some of the ships ropes, but already working to free himself. They all looked a bit bedraggled, but not really hurt. 

Only Duke was missing.

Tristan's head jerked back to the steering wheel, his heart stopping for a moment. Oh fuck no. Duke wasn't… Duke couldn't, not that fucking daredevil…

At that moment a hand rose over the steering wheel, grasping it, and Duke hurled himself upwards, grinning wide and proud. “That was fun!” He caught Tristan's look and winked. “Up for another round?” 

Tristan sagged backwards with a relieved sigh. That bastard… Still he caught himself smiling back at him.

Then he looked up again, towards the front this time, and his mouth dropped. Oh fucking hell… Zorc was going to explode if he ever figured that out. He hoped to be there when the realisation hit. “Ah…guys?” He gestured towards the others, who slowly turned around to look.

Yugi's breath caught. A large expanse of trees, bigger than any forest that should be capable of growing in the desert, stretched out before them, right where their arm of the canyon ended. Trees as far as the eyes could see, palms and mangroves and… He could hardly catch them all, as many shades of green as there were languages in the world to name them, interspaced with waterfalls and rivers, and fine mist rising over the trees promising a refreshing coolness. The air was filled with the chirping of birds and the chattering of monkeys. It was a paradise on earth. For the first time in his life he felt he had gotten a glimpse of what Eden must have looked like. And in the middle, still so far off that it was hardly visible with the clear eye, was a pyramid cast completely in gold, with a sparkling light on top, inviting them in. It could only be the legendary diamond drawing wanderers to their doom. 

Next to him Seth drew a deep breath. “Ahm Shere.”

Joey's head twitched towards him in surprise. Fucking hell, he sounded almost reverently, as breathless as he himself felt. For a moment Seth almost seemed to be human again, eyes wide in wonder, mouth slightly parted. He nearly had a smile on his lips. Then his face drew shut again, and the look disappeared. 

Shaking his head to get the way Seth had looked out of his mind, Joey turned back to grab a telescope from behind them to get a better look at the pyramid. It looked exactly like Yugi and Seth had described it, and when the diamond at the top blinked towards him, he drew a shaking breath. Something cold dropped into his stomach. “Right.” This was where the bad guys were taking Jaden, the end goal of their journey. He had known that it was a bad place no matter how peaceful it looked, had known everything would end here. So why did it feel like he was looking at his own doom?

Just as he lowered the telescope, a deep rumbling came from behind them. He flinched and turned around to see Duke and the others turning back also, looking at the same water wall from before. Zorc's now definitely-pissed-off-face was still etched into its front, roaring at them. Fucking bastard didn't know when to quit, did he?

“He's back, hang on!” Duke just had time to scream out and grab the lever again before the water crashed down around them. The ship jumped forward, shooting out of the canyon and over the oasis. They were at least a kilometre in when the whole ship shuddered and the flames on its sides died down. It stopped mid-air, giving a few, pitiable sounds, and refused to move. Duke looked down, and glanced up at the others again, shrugging. 

“Well, that's not good.” Fucking genius. Tristan could have noted that on his own. That was it; he was going to throttle Duke for that comment alone. But before he could even make a leap for him, the waves crashed into them and around them, dragging the ship and all on it down, drowning them and tearing it to pieces.

The lake was empty, slowly draining into the canyon, when the man in the middle lowered his arms and stalked towards the group gathering at the shore. There was a similarity to Yugi in his features, thought maybe that was down to their almost-identical hairstyles, with the biggest difference—apart from his darker skin and confident bearing—being that the new man’s eyes were a deep, creepy read, like blood, instead of Yugi's warm amethyst, and that these eyes were empty, even worse than Shadi’s.

But Jaden only took notice of that detail in passing, still focused on the slowly dripping river, already being drained into the desert sand. An unheard prayer, probably the first one in his life, hung on his lips.  _ Please…let them be ok… Please…let them be alright…  _ He didn't even known to whom he was praying, or if he was praying at all, and not repeating a wild, improbable hope over and over again.

“My lord.” The man in red was kneeling, just like Shadi, and even Hirutani had his head slightly bowed, a satisfied, still halfway-mad grin on his face. When he passed Jaden, the “lord” patted Jaden on the head, grinning down at him. Jaden shoved the hand off, anger and fear and grief and hurt coursing through him—because that couldn't happen, that couldn't be true, Yugi, and Joey and Tristan and Tea and Ryou, even that Medjay guy, Seth…

If they had been here, if they had really come after him…they couldn't be… They just couldn't be dead.


	11. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

They had survived. Joey could hardly believe it himself. They were shaken, had cuts all over them and more bruises than he dared to count, but nobody seemed to be seriously hurt. Everyone was moving without problem, and even the damned bird was back with its master. It was a fucking miracle! Of course, their whole ship was destroyed, the balloon almost torn to shreds and Joey didn't like the steam shooting out from the wreckage. But given their circumstances, in total they probably had gotten off better than they should have.

He nodded towards Duke. “Right. So the plan is that we get Jaden, and then we might want to hurry out of here damn fast.” He didn't like this jungle at all. It was looking way too nice, and with this place being the resting area of a power-hungry, cursed warrior-king, he really didn't want to linger. He never thought he would say that, but he may have liked this oasis even less than Hamunaptra. At least the cursed city had the tendency to look as creepy as it was, with its twisting tunnels and ruins. This here was a fucking lotus eater trap. 

“Can you make this work?” He glanced up at Duke, who was already jumping around his ship.

Duke looked down towards them. “Ah, that might be a bit of a problem.” He jerked his thumb sideways to point towards the torn balloon, still surrounded by a whole flood of steam. “This thing is filled with gas, not hot air. Gas.” He let his gaze glide over their surroundings. “Somehow I don't think I'm going to find a lot of that here. Where should I even look? Bananas? Mangos? Tarzan's ass?”

Tristan looked up from where he was helping the others grab their equipment and took a step towards Duke, who was still thinking aloud. 

“I could probably modify it to run on hot air, but it would still take a lot of cubic meters to fill that thing. “ 

Tristan patted his shoulders. “Don't worry. If anybody can fill this thing with hot air, Duke, it's gonna be you.” 

Duke shot him a look. “Very subtle. When this thing flies, I'm gonna save you last.” 

Tristan grinned. “Counting on it.”

Joey looked around the wreckage, checking if they had forgotten anything, when a sudden glint of gold caught his eyes. He stopped and leaned forward. To his great surprise, he pulled out the Sceptre of Osiris. Fuck, he had almost forgotten this thing. Last night in the cabin he had thrown it against the wall in frustration, and when he had walked out, it had been directly into Yugi's past life show, which, as interesting as it had been, had also been a perfect distraction, both positive and negative. He had completely forgotten the sceptre. And still it hadn’t been thrown into the jungle, fallen into a creek, or disappeared into the underbrush, but had remained on the ship, right to be found. 

“There is a fine line between coincidence and fate.” Atem's voice from last night was ringing out in his ears again, and for a second he was almost tempted to throw that damn thing away by himself. Now it was looking like it was stalking him, damn it. He had enough of that from Hirutani; he didn't need that from a fucking golden stick too. But in the end he shoved it into his belt. Atem might be right. They might still need it. Maybe he actually would get the chance to hit the Scorpion King over the head with it.

He turned back towards the others, coming towards a stop next to Seth, who just shut the capsule tied to Horus’ foot shut. Raising his hand, he let to bird fly, and for a second both of them watched as the falcon disappeared beyond the horizon. Then Seth turned away without another word, and Joey walked a bit faster, to catch up with Yugi. 

“So what's the plan? Do we have one?” 

Yugi grinned back at him, smile still a bit weak and strained, but unbeaten. “Finding some high ground probably wouldn’t be a bad start. But we've never need a plan before, so why start now?”

On a cliff overlooking Ahm Shere, Shadi lifted a shotgun and aimed it at the bird soaring high up in the air and making its way out over the canyon. Shooting something was almost too crude for his taste, a task he usually left to Hirutani and his ilk. But this time it would be a personal pleasure to take this bird out. His master, that little upstart, had to learn his lesson after all. If you took what belonged to Shadi, you lost everything. 

He pulled the trigger a satisfied, almost happy smile on his lips.

The shot reverberated out over the oasis, a loud, harsh bang. Seth was already running when Joey and the others were only just turning around. “Horus!” Joey ran after him, heart pounding in his chest. There was no hint that it was the bird, not sign that anything happened to him, so maybe Seth was being paranoid… But that shot hadn't been aimed at them. And the pure shock when Seth had called out, the pain in his voice… Something in Joey's heart clenched tightly, and he heard Seth's voice in his head:  _ “My best and most clever friend…” _ Oh god…that bird was way too haughty and it had attacked him but if something had happened to it… It didn't deserve that and Seth…

When he finally caught up with Seth, the Medjay leader was standing in a small clearing, clutching something to his chest. There was blood over his clothes and a look of pure grief on his face, the most emotions Joey had ever seen him showing. Joey's mouth dried when he stepped closer. Seth's head shot up when he heard him approach, and the grief in face disappeared as it tightened, being replaced by shimmering fury. But he never said a word as Joey saw that the thing in his hand was truly Horus: wounded, wing clearly torn through by the bullet… But he was still breathing, still cawing weekly, and glaring up at Joey with one eye. That fucking falcon was still alive and Joey had never been more relieved to see a bird levelling him with an angry look.

Seth looked up towards him. “I must go.” 

Joey blinked. “What? The hell you do!” He should have been glad to see Seth go, glad to finally be rid of him, of the unspoken critic of his very existence thanks to some fucking tattoo…even if he got that part a bit now that he had seen the others. There was something there; something this tattoo tied him too, which he didn't understand, maybe couldn't possibly understand, having not grown up with him; and that not understanding made him lacking, made him not good enough. But fuck, Seth didn't have to act this way, and…and Joey didn't want to see him leave. Not only because he would feel better knowing he was fighting with them—that guy had fought off a whole horde of mummies alone at Hamunaptra, a certain death sentence, and had lived to tell the tale after all—but…fucking hell Joey might actually miss that bastard. Might actually worry about him.

He was never going to admit that out loud. That guy…really that guy, out of everyone in the whole fucking world, after Hirutani, after everything, that guy…

Fuck his life.

Seth squinted his eyes as he turned to glare at Joey. “You are not ordering me around.” There was a hiss in his words, something dark underneath the surface, and Joey just knew that he had hit a problem he should not have stirred up. So of course he kept poking. 

“What? Is the Medjay chief too good to take orders from a street dog?” The grin on his lips was both a challenge and a disguise, taking Seth's nerves and pride at the same time as protecting Joey's emotions. Because that was the problem, the thing they had danced around since the night at the museum when Seth had seen the tattoo.  _ Not good enough. _ Seth’s disgust for him had been visible then, and fucking hell, Joey would call him out on that now. Might be their last dance after all—time to make it count.

Something in Seth's face frozen, leaving only his eyes alive, burning with anger. He took another step towards Joey. They were now standing so close their faces were almost touching. Seth leaned a bit forward and hissed. 

“I'm never taking orders from a Brit, you idiot.” 

Joey recoiled. It should have felt like a slap, and maybe it was meant as one, but in truth it was more like being doused with the same cold waters Zorc had just thrown at them all over again. Oh… Oh. That was…that was the reason why… They were standing in the one country that had managed a successful uprising against the British, no matter how short-lasted it had been, no matter that their Egyptian neighbours had paid a price for that particular embarrassment of the British army. And suddenly a few things about Seth's anger got startling clear. Joey had known about the problems Egypt faced, just how much the country had suffered under the British. He had grown up on Cairo’s streets for fuck’s sake—you didn't stay ignorant there, not with some people being happy at the chance to finally take it out evenly with one of their oppressors. It was just fucking easy to overlook now, until it was staring him straight in the face personified by Seth's anger, that someone…that some half-British half-American upstart was wearing a tattoo meant for the warriors of his tribe. A sacred mark given how he spoke about it. Oh. 

But still, that didn't mean the words didn't hit. Didn't hurt. And after the last few days, Joey's nerves and self-control were already drawn thin. So he did the only thing he could.

For once in his life Seth actually hadn’t meant to spit the words into Joey's face. He had been tempted a lot, but this was the worst of all possible places, and they were out of time. But something in the way Joey had said the words—street dog—had hit him right in the face. Was that what he thought about himself? Was that what he thought Seth was thinking about him? Seth was angry, furious that Joey was wearing the tattoo, that he thought… But he didn't. That idiot didn't think he belonged to his tribe, and while he clearly was incredibly ignorant about what this tattoo meant, he also wasn't waltzing in like the British usually did: either thinking that everything he saw and wanted belonged to him naturally; or the other kind, believing himself to be some kind of savior for whom everyone had waited. He was just trying to get by. And while Seth might never actually be happy about that tattoo on a Brit…without knowing what it entailed, Joey was still kinda living up to the main principal, in a terribly incompetent way. So Seth couldn't let him go on believing he was the problem when the actual problem ran much deeper. 

Still he was only partly surprised when Joey drew back and threw a punch straight into his face. His head flew back, and it took him only a second to place Horus gently aside. Horus looked between him and Joey as if he’d determined that all humans were mad. Then Seth launched onto Joey.

They tumbled to the ground, twisting and turning around, the oasis and the sky becoming one and the same; and for a while it was impossible to tell where one of them ended and the other began, who was hitting whom, and if that even mattered at the moment. By the time, they came to rest, Seth was glaring up at Joey, who, with blue eyes muddy and several additional cuts on his face—that might have come from the surrounding forest and stones as well as Seth's nails—was looking back just as angrily. 

“Let me go.” Each word was spitten out separately, and Joey just grinned in answer. 

“Sorry, I'm as bad at taking orders as you are. Never learned that.”

He was out of breath, sore, but something inside him had settled. Seth, face cut up and a definite bruise forming on his cheek, snorted. “What a surprise.” For a moment neither of them said anything, just laying there, listening to the other’s breathing and catching their breaths. Then Seth closed his eyes for a second, and broke the silence. “I need to let the commanders know where we are. If the army of Anubis arises…” 

Joey laughed. “It's pretty much a ‘when the army rises,’ with our kind of luck.” For a second he swore he saw Seth's lips twitch upwards in a smile. He let his head fall down, so that it was touching Seth's shoulder. “We could use you help here. I could use your help here.” He thought the words would take more to get out, that he would have to fight himself to admit that, if he ever planned to do that. But in the end it felt almost naturally to say that. Not looking at Seth probably helped too. Silence was his answer for a moment, and Joey kept his eyes closed, till he felt Seth's voice rumbling in his chest.

“Shadi was originally meant to be the next leader of the tribes.” His voice seemed to come from far away, as if he was telling himself an old, familiar story, as if he didn't even realise Joey was listening. But still Joey was sure that Seth was only too well aware of his presence, that he was listening to every sound coming out of his mouth. “When I passed the trials—when I got chosen instead, despite my age, despite his greater experience—he never forgave that. He betrayed the tribes, his own people, the ones he had sworn to protect and joined the Dark One, willingly and without hesitation. The Medjay cannot be abandoned by one of their leaders again.”

Joey slowly nodded. “I get that.” Seth had his own duties to tend to. And that Shadi guy really was a piece of fucking work. Joey had always believed he himself could hold a grudge, but joining forces with good old Zorc because you didn't get the job you wanted took the cake. No wonder he was working with Hirutani now: they both were handling rejections and being denied, equally well. Not fucking good at all.

Underneath him Seth shifted, and Joey opened his eyes, sitting up to give Seth space to get up too. The Medjay leader was looking at him, an expression on his face which was completely unreadable for Joey. “I can help you first. But I won't be able to stay long.” 

Joey slowly let out a breath he had been holding, and tried not to grin like a fucking idiot. Seth was staying. He was actually staying. Even if it was just for a while, it was enough. More than he had hoped for, in fact. A small smile stole itself on his face when they both stood up, and for a second he was almost sure Seth's smiled back.

Then an impatient screech to their right interrupted them, and both of their heads flew around at the same time. Horus flapped at them like he was trying to get them to hurry along. The bird clearly thought they had both lost their minds, and Joey couldn't even blame him. He was pretty sure that they had too. He just was really happy about that.

When Seth had carefully placed Horus in one of the pockets on his coat—the bird safely snuggling into it, and closing its eyes, getting ready to sleep, his wounds bound and cleaned as best as Seth could manage at the moment—they went back to join the others who stood a few feet away. Covered by the wild growth of the jungle, they were trying desperately and failing miserably to look like they hadn't listened in to the whole conversation. 

Tristan just shook his head at Joey. “You have a fucking strange taste mate. But it's your funeral.” 

Joey just grinned back. “Says the pot to the kettle.”

A full moon lit up the sky by the time Jaden and his captors made their way through the jungle surrounding the oasis. Under different circumstances, Jaden might have smiled at that, thinking it a night fitting for what was going to happen, for dark magic and ancient legends coming to live. But now he was just stumbling along their path, as if in a daze, hardly noticing where he put his feet. His mind still replayed the water wall rising over and over, with the support of his imagination adding more and more detailed pictures about how it broke over Yugi and the others, over his friends, his…family, dragging them under and… He shook his head, blinking the tears away. No. They had to be all right. He needed to repeat that to himself, so that maybe one time he would believe it. 

They had to be all right. 

But slowly, more and more details about his surroundings started to filter in. Maybe it was the way Kuriboh pressed against him, clearly shaking with fear. Maybe it was the way the warriors in front of him moved, slowly, carefully, torches raised high and fear and unease clearly visible in their bearings and faces. Or maybe it was the old, rusting weapons and body parts lying around; the clearly human heads—only skulls now really, because nothing else was left, picked completely clear—mounted on spears rammed into the ground. It didn't matter, because now there was fear racing through Jaden, stifling his breath and turning every step into slow, dread-filled torture. Something was wrong here; it felt like the whole jungle was watching them, just waiting for the right moment to turn them into skulls too. 

He raised his arm to pet Kuriboh on his head. “It's all right. It's all right.” His voice was barely a whisper, and he really wished he could calm himself down too.

When they passed a clearing with cages hanging down from the trees, filled with at least three skeletons each and the sign of an eagle standard typical for roman legions, the dread became full blown panic. 

Shadi walked slowly behind him, calmly identifying the signs and uniforms on the dead people. “Roman legionnaires. And there are the turn-of-the century-French. Those were Napoleon's troops.” He sounded like he was reading a grocery list, not identifying soldiers killed by God-alone-knew-what. Shadi turned his head to glance around. “I wonder what did this?” He still sounded completely unfazed, but even Hirutani had already drawn his gun. He jerked Jaden past some corpses bound together, their flesh still in place and somehow looking like it and they were melted together into one terrifying nightmare. Jaden really didn't want to know the answer. He had never wanted to be home—whether that was the mansion in England or the museum in Cairo, being safe and surrounded by his family—more than in that second. 

And then something growled in the corpse surrounding them.

They had found some cliffs that fit so perfectly for their purpose, Yugi almost wondered if they were made for them. It was a magical, cursed oasis, after all: everything was possible. The cliffs offered a perfect view over the stretch of jungle nearest to the pyramid, through which a clearly visible procession of torches was now passing. Though so perfect as they were, they would probably be trying to kill them sooner or later. But in the meantime, they still could use them. All of them were busy readying their weapons. Joey, Tristan and Seth would go down into the jungle to try and retrieve Jaden, ideally without any of them getting killed or even wounded. Yugi, Tea and Ryou would stay here, providing cover from above. Hopefully. If they managed to hit the right guys.

Ryou's head suddenly jerked up. “Did you guys hear that?” 

Tea looked back at him and shrugged. “No. There’s nothing.” She frowned. “Absolutely nothing.” Her voice trailed off, and the implication of her words hushed through them all. With an audible click, Joey readied his gun. 

Ryou breathed out and turned around, eyes glancing over their surroundings. He took a few steps to the rest of the cliffs rising behind them, covered in lianas, and brushed them aside carefully. “My word.” 

That was both the most macabre and most fascinating thing he had ever seen, even after his time with Zorc. There were at least three shelves carved into the stone wall, all of them filled with shrunken heads stacked so tightly they almost looked melted together with almost no visible space between them. They came in different sizes and shapes, most of them twisted in one way or the other, some hanging down on ropes, some mounted on small pikes. 

“Guys, look at this.” He knew the excitement in his voice was misplaced, knew that it probably came out extremely wrong, but he couldn't help himself. As creepy as it was, this was also fascinating. “Shrunken heads. I'd love to know how they did that!”

He raised his head to grin up at his friends, only to realise they were all looking at him now with the exact same expression on their faces. That… Ok, that admittedly did sound wrong. But weren't any of the others curious? How did you get a head to preserve in that exact way and, far more important, who had done that here? Did that mean someone lived in this oasis? It raised so many questions! But since he knew that anything he could say would only make the whole situation more awkward, Ryou shrugged. 

“Just curious.” 

That was the easiest explanation. 

Seth turned his head back, and Joey was sure he almost caught him rolling his eyes. Seth must have caught his look because the familiar frown settled over his face, and he jerked his head in the direction of Joey's gun. “Any good with that?” 

Joey nearly laughed out loud. Now that bastard was just taking the piss. He had seen Joey shoot; he knew exactly how good he was. So Joey just grinned up at him. “Oh I'm passable, don’t worry. Any good with that?” His head jerked towards the kopesh swords tucked into Seth’s belt. He still remembered how it felt to be attacked by those weapons, to feel as if his life would end at any second. To this day, he could still recall Seth sitting on his horse in the middle of the night in Hamunaptra, blade raised to end him, lightened by the fires of their burning camp, eyes glowing as much as the fire. Any good indeed.

Seth's mouth twitched, but it wasn't quite a smile. “You'll know soon enough.” Faster than Joey could blink, the kopesh was out of Seth’s belt, twisting in his hand. Before he could even breathe, the sharp blade was resting against his throat. Seth stood even closer to him, and his deep voice—low and calm, and so fucking hypnotic—was almost a purr. “Because the only way to kill a warrior of the underworld is by taking off his head.” 

Joey gulped, a strange elation in his chest and fucking mad grin on his face. “I'll remember that.” Fuck, his voice sounded breathless even to his own ears, and he didn't even have a problem with that. He was so fucking screwed. Seth nodded, a half smile on his lips, as he slowly withdrew the blade from Joey's neck and put the sword back into his belt.

Their torches were now the only light left in the seemingly never-ending darkness of the oasis. Not even the full moon’s light pierced the thick overgrowth, and Jaden kept his eyes fixed on the small spots of light the warriors provided. With each step they took, taking them deeper into the labyrinth, he grew surer that something was stalking them. Occasionally there was the impression of something glinting in the darkness surrounding them, and he was sure he heard something snarl when they passed certain places. The torches might have been carried by the very people who kidnapped him, and their light might have been small, but apart from Kuriboh it was the only comfort, the only fleeting illusion of safety, that he had.

For a second the overgrowth broke, delivering them all a clear view of the nighttime sky filled with millions upon millions of stars and, in the far off distance, the golden pyramid. It still seemed impossibly far away, but Jaden’s heart still sank when he caught sight of it. All around him, excited whispers broke out, passing from one warrior to another.  _ “The pyramid. The pyramid.”  _

He just drew a shaking breath. “I'm in so much trouble now.” His eyes darted towards Hirutani. Even though they were on opposite ends of their procession—Jaden nearly at the end, and Hirutani right at the front—Jaden could see his grin cut through the darkness all the way back towards him. He gulped. Suddenly the far off pyramid didn't seem so far off at all. It was way too close. 

Hirutani leaned forward and whispered towards their Lord Zorc, if Jaden had caught his name correctly. “Can I kill him now?” 

The man’s eyes shifted sideways to look at them, and he shook his head. “We still need the bracelet. Only it can unlock the armies of the underworld.” Then his lips formed a small smile. “But it doesn't necessarily need to be attached to the boy.” 

Hirutani's smile widened in answer. “It will be my pleasure to retrieve that bracelet.” He turned back towards Jaden and stepped into the thicket surrounding them to take a shortcut towards Jaden.

Suddenly the whole group stopped. Something had shifted in the air, a stronger wind was picking up, and the distant rumbling of thunder filled the air. Jaden looked around nervously, and in the front Gozaburo looked up thoughtfully. 

“Something is coming.”

A storm. Of course there would be a fucking thunderstorm too. Joey wouldn't be surprised if the storm had followed them all the way from England just to hound them here too. He was running at full speed through this fucking jungle, with plants growing so thick he could barely see his own hand in front of his eyes, never mind Seth and Tristan somewhere next to him. It was a miracle that neither of them had hit a tree yet, and this storm wasn't helping matters at all. 

They stopped shortly in the middle of glade, weapons drawn to look around and of course the first thing he saw were at least a dozen corpses, in varying states of decay and death, all of them incredible macabre. And of course they were from different time periods too, given their uniforms. Yugi would be fucking overjoyed if he told him that both Cesar’s and Napoleon’s troops had actually reached this fucking place. 

Gozaburo screamed something that sounded like orders in the front, and all around Jaden the warriors fanned out, weapons drawn. Given that they all looked incredibly nervous and pretty much terrified, it didn't inspire much confidence in Jaden. He twisted his head slightly to look at Kuriboh. “I'm so dead, am I?” His friend just nodded.

On the cliff, Yugi knelt with his weapon drawn and took aim. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Tea and Ryou do the same, and a small, nervous smile played across his lips. “So, how confident are we feeling?” 

Tea smiled back. “I think it could be worse.” 

Ryou just shrugged. “Hey, we are bound to hit at least some of them. Those torches make excellent targets.” 

Yugi shook his head. “As long as nobody hits the others or Jaden down here.” Or Atem… Zorc… Given how bullet proof he had been the last time, that would be an utter waste of ammunition. He didn't want to think about it; couldn't think about that, about Atem's smile, about his calm voice…about the fact that they somehow would have to put him down again. He couldn't afford this heartbreak now. But the anger—the pure fury he felt at the unfairness of it all, at the whole situation—that could be useful now. So he took a deep breath, tried his very best to focus on that anger, and concentrated, finger laying lightly on the trigger.

Their group slowly continued through the darkness and the rising wind. Jaden felt worse with every second passing, especially since he could hear Hirutani somewhere to the side and in front of him loudly screaming for him. The warrior next to him had his arm in a steel grip; otherwise he might have already made a run for it. Whatever was lurking in that jungle couldn't possibly be worse than the man whom he had spent the last couple of days riling up. 

Something glinted in the forest next to them, and the warriors holding him jerked him around, guns drawn, to get a closer look at it. That meant that Jaden, as they slowly stalked closer, got a very good look at something that looked like a halfway-rotting monkey corpse leaning against a tree. The eyes were already gone, as was much of the small creature’s flesh, but its teeth were still there, sharp and pointy, and almost brilliantly white. Did monkeys usually have such sharp teeth? Jaden had never really gotten close enough to one to figure that out, even though he knew they could bite, and painfully saw but that…that looked more like something a shark would have. Either way, he didn't want to get any closer to this corpse than he had to, which obviously was very close, as his guard dragged him ever closer. Guy must be truly fascinated with dead monkeys. 

Suddenly there was a new sound ringing out from somewhere behind them, near the main part of their group—something low and surprised, and almost immediately silenced. Jaden twisted his head slightly, but of course he couldn’t see anything in the darkness. He looked forward, just in time to see how his guard leaned closer, as if to poke the dead monkey in the face.  _ Really? _

There was another sound, nearly the same as before, but this time Jaden didn't even turn his head. He just wanted to get away from that monkey corpse. Apart from its sharp teeth and its small size, its head looked way too close to a rotting human head, and honestly, Jaden just had a bad feeling about it. It looked so dry, almost mummified, and well, nothing in this oasis’ climate should actually have caused a body to mummify; the air was moist, not dry. So why was this corpse the way it was? That was not a question he actually wanted to have answered.

But sadly he got his answer, for after a few seconds of the guard gazing at the monkey corpse’s face, as close as he possibly could get, said monkey corpse threw open its eyes, clearly not as dead as it looked. It screeched the most unholy sound Jaden had every head and plunged a small knife directly into the man’s heart. The man’s eyes widened in surprise, the only reaction he could make before death claimed him and his hand slackened. That was as much as Jaden saw because at the same moment at which he got free he flew around and disappeared into the chaos and the jungle around him, which now came alive with a terrifying new noise.

There were warriors everywhere around him, no matter were Jaden turned to run, but they were too panicked to pay any attention to him. The air was full of the screeches of those undead monkeys, and left and right of Jaden warriors were dragged down into the thicket surrounding their feet. There one second and gone the next, a few of them made a small sound of surprise, a startled grasp, the same sound Jaden had heard before. And now they did what panicking people with guns always did when they didn't know what to do: they started shooting.

The sound of gunfire rang out through the jungle, almost as thick as rainfall. Joey, Tristan and Seth just shared one look before they ran again directly towards that sound. 

It was pure pandemonium. People, highly trained and battle-worn warriors, were running around like headless chickens, startled by thunder and afraid of the dark. They were shooting and running with no sense of where to go and not particularly caring about that either. Those who weren't dragged to the ground by their unseen attackers, never to rise again, were riddled with tiny arrows—a dozen, fifty, a hundred—and dropped like flies. 

It only became worse when their attackers were finally visible: tiny monkey, halfway-rotten to the bone, halfway-covered in mummified flesh and in parts overgrown by moss and other plants, rising tiny blow tubes to shoot their arrows. There were too many to count, too many to grasp for the mind; a flood of tiny deaths in the dark, visible just in the flashes of the jumping torchlights of dying men. 

The warrior who had been carrying the Book of the Dead till now fell down, his back full of those tiny arrows. The book fell from his hands and landed a step or two away on the forest floor. Gozaburo, who had been nearby, stooped down to retrieve it, only to find himself surrounded by a whole legion of those monkeys. But before they could shoot, Zorc stepped up next to him. He raised his hand and turned around, a small, uncaring smile on his lips. 

The monkeys—the same, unstoppable force from before, sweeping through their warriors like wildfire—cowered in fear, hands raised to protect themselves. They stumbled back and fled into the jungle, leaving their weapons and the corpses of their kills behind. Zorc smiled, before he turned around, and walked through the jungle and the chaos surrounding him, Gozaburo only two steps behind him, clutching the Book of the Dead to his chest.

Jaden stumbled forward, out of breath, unsure where to go, and completely panicking, as around him people died, gunshots and shrieks filling the air, with no end or escape from this green-and-black hell in sight. He ran straight into Shadi, just stopping in time before he truly crashed into him, frozen at the spot at the sight of his with kaftan and his empty smile. 

“Ah, there you are. Hirutani has been looking for you.” He sounded completely untouched by everything happening around him, as if they were just on a stroll down Cairo’s streets. Jaden glanced up at him, turned around and ran again. He didn't stop to look around, to check if Shadi was even following him, which of course he was. Despite Jaden running and him walking, slowly but steadily, he seemed to gain on him by the second.

The bad guys were in disarray and chaos already when Joey and the others arrived, so Joey fired on them too, making use of the general confusion and panic. He could hardly make out any individual persons in the pandemonium—just shapes of red dashing around, falling and running—but no one here looked small enough to be Jaden, and he also couldn't see Hirutani's blond hair, which definitely would have stuck out in this darkness. Currently their mission was neither going well nor poorly.

He could see Seth and Tristan fighting and shooting too, and then suddenly, one of the warriors in front of him was dragged over the ground by his feet, screaming and clawing at the earth, before he disappeared inside the cover of a bush that began shaking wildly. Joey stopped for just a second to watch, thoroughly confused as to what kind of weird supernatural stuff was going on the hell now. Then he shook his head and continued on through the fight. He didn't need to know, he didn't want to know, and fuck it all, that didn't even come close to their weirdest things he had seen.

And then a scream rang out loud and clear, and definitely Jaden: “Help!” Joey could hear it, even through the chaos around him. He immediately turned towards the direction from which it came and started running, guns blazing, jumping over everything in his way, whether it be tree trunks or corpses. 

“Jaden!”

Three warriors appeared in front of him, but just as he dodged to avoid their shot, they dropped dead to the floor, taken down by one single shot each. Joey looked up, to see the cliff Yugi, Tea and Ryou were on, and smiled. Good shot. Then Jaden screamed again, and he continued running, his friends on the cliffs clearing the way for him. 

Jaden ran head first into a tree in his panic. He leapt up immediately, but found himself with his back to the tree and Shadi’s sword pointed at his throat. 

“It's time to remove that bracelet, boy. We need it.” He could have been talking about the weather; his voice was so detached, as if it was just a fact Jaden should accept and it should have been natural for him to let himself be killed because they needed the bracelet. Jaden pressed himself against the tree, shaking, more afraid than he had never been before. Tears spilled over his eyes from just looking at Shadi, at his sword, because he was going to die here, and he didn't want to…

When suddenly something rammed into him, grabbed him, and in the next second he found himself slung over someone’s shoulder—Joey's shoulder. And he watched, open mouthed and barely breathing, as Shadi got smaller behind them, looking after them with no discernible emotion visible on his face.

Shadi turned around to follow the boy, but before he could, Seth's sword flew down towards him, and he had to block.

They were running through the jungle, Jaden still trying to catch his breath and what had happened: Joey was here; he had saved him. Then one of the undead monkeys appeared behind them, tiny spear raised to charge after them. “Joey! Behind you!” 

Joey flew around, gun raised, and was already shooting before he realised what he was shooting at.

The monkey…thing…whatever the hell that was was blown into pieces mid-air, just a couple of centimetres in front of Joey's face, who just blinked at that scene. But he didn't have time to process that death, or even to lower his gun, as the next undead nightmare creature jumped out at them and was quickly shot to pieces. Well. So it was undead murder monkeys this time. Still better than those fucking beetles. With a shrug Joey lowered his gun, and turned around to continue their flight.

Their blades clashed again and again as they flew around each other, locked in a deadly dance. Nothing else mattered anymore, not the shrieks of the monkeys, not the screams of the dying, the chaos around them, the torches flickering and vanishing, or any of the people or undead creatures in this nightmarish jungle. They could have been back in their home camp, or in the middle of the desert, or in the holy city itself; it was all the same. The only thing that mattered was each other, and the meeting of their weapons. Now both Seth and Shadi were evenly matched, at one moment Seth driving Shadi back, in the next Shadi driving Seth back, both filled with years of anger waiting for this exact moment.

Around them people were still running and fighting for their lives. A whole group of soldiers fell into a moor, the soft ground slowly dragging them under. Hirutani, who had been behind them, only stopped for a second, before he crossed the moor, using the heads of the drowning, struggling men as stepping stones and jumping from one to the other. A group of monkeys following him did the same, one after the other, with the last one taking extra care to jump on each head as long as it took for them to drown.

Shadi brought his sword down, and Seth dodged, rolling underneath it, and coming up opposite of Shadi, to strike on his own. Shadi dodged. At that moment, Seth’s fist hit him straight in the face, coming from the opposite direction of Seth’s blade. Shadi stumbled. Seth used this moment of weakness to strike again, to kick him down and land another hit, with a foot straight into the face. But Shadi recovered, righting himself and raising his blade for cover, and for a moment both men looked at each other, out of breath, with lightning flashing overhead and the sounds of the battle and the massacre still howling around them like the wind.

Then their blades clashed again. Shadi took a step forwards, and Seth saw his opening. One sideways stroke cut directly into Shadi’s shoulder, and when Shadi flew around to attack him, stumbling a bit from the first cut, Seth brought his kopesh down again straight across Shadi's chest. Shadi's eyes widened, and his mouth slightly opened as he sacked forward. He fell to his knees and as he looked up at Seth. His face and eyes were full of confusion and fear before he fell down sideways, dying in the middle of Ahm Shere. 

Seth looked down at him, out of breath. A small smile flicked upon his face. Could he really believe it was truly over? That the greatest traitor of his people, the one who once upon a time was supposed to lead and protect them, was truly lying dead at his feet. He waited for him to fly up again and attack him, when suddenly he felt something metallic touch his shoulder blade, and the click of a gun unlocking. He turned his head, but not fast enough, for in the next second a shot rang out.

His breath stopped, and for one second he was sure that he had been shot, that he was dying now, just seconds after the traitor. In a way it certainly was fitting, but truth be told, the thought just made him angry. He hadn't fought mummies, the Dark One, the traitor and his new friends to die now, nonetheless be shot from behind. He wouldn't give the traitor that satisfaction.

But when no pain, no darkness came, when he felt no wound, Seth turned around. One of the enemy warriors had his gun drawn and pointed at him, finger on the trigger, but just as Seth caught sight of him, he sacked down sideways, falling dead next to the traitor with a red wound blooming in his chest directly over his heart. He looked back towards the cliffs, nodding shortly towards whoever had made the shot, and ran off back into the fight, leaving the traitor’s corpse behind for the jungle to take it.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

At the cliffs Ryou lifted gun from the shot he had just taken, a pleased smile on his face. Next to him Tea did the same, rolling her shoulders, and Yugi nodded at them both. “Let's go.” It wasn't long now before sunrise. Time to pick up the others and Jaden and get the hell out of here, before something truly went wrong, and they would face an awakened Scorpion King.

Joey had lost even the vaguest orientation he ever could have claimed to have in this hellish green labyrinth. Between the plants everywhere and the darkness, everything looked the fucking same, and with the screams and people and undead monkey running around and falling over each other, it all left the impression of being trapped in an endless, badly lit nightmare. He had lost sight of Tristan and Seth ages ago, and he didn't even know if he was running in the right direction. But then, away from the screams seemed to be a pretty good direction at the moment, so he couldn't be that wrong.

Something moved in the darkness before him, and he was already lifting his gun, holding a bit tighter onto Jaden with his other hand, who was clinging to him like a liana, before he broke through the overgrowth into another clearing, and the figures running towards them from the other direction became visible in the moonlight.

“Oh good, it's you!” He lowered Jaden to the ground, and smiled at his friends. Jaden flew around and threw himself into Yugi's arms, and then into Tea's and Ryou's arms. Joey had often been glad to see his friends but he had hardly ever been so relieved. He nodded at them. 

“Nice shooting.” 

Tea grinned back, a bit exhausted, but clearly proud. “You too. Hey.” She gestured around. “I couldn't get a clear look, but what were those creepy walking plush things?” 

Joey shook his head, and took a deep breath. “Oh just the local wildlife.” Presumably, that wasn’t even all that wrong. Those things had to live here after all, for a certain value of living, and he hadn't seen anything else even remotely alive apart from them either, if you didn't count the plants. 

Tea shot him an unbelieving look. “You are sure?” 

Joey nodded. “Oh yes, it was nothing.” He grinned. “Just like the beetles at Hamunaptra. Those places always have something like that!”

They were interrupted by the arrival of Tristan and Seth. Both were a bit worse for wear and came from opposite directions. Jaden grasped Joey’s sleeve with one hand, and Yugi's tugged on his other hand, drawing Joey from his thoughts. 

“Ok, nice to see you all, but we don't have time. We need to get to the pyramid. Now! I have to get this bracelet off!” He sounded a bit more panicked than the situation called for, in Joey’s opinion. Yes, that thing was incredibly tacky and probably heavy, but compared to fighting their way through this nightmare-monkey-infested jungle again, it was downright gorgeous. He was sure Jaden could live with it.

Tristan seemed to agree. “Leave it on.” He shook his head with an encouraging smile. “It looks good on you.” 

Jaden just shook his head, and looked from one of them to the other like he was halfway sure they were idiots. “No, you guys don’t understand!” It was the desperation, the pure fear in his voice, that made Joey listen. “This bracelet will kill me if I don't get into the pyramids before the sun hits it…today!” Joey turned his head to look at Seth, who seemed to be the only one here who could verify this, and out of the corner of his eye he saw the others do the same, as if they were all linked together like marionettes on a string. When Seth nodded, just barely hesitating, face drawn tight, Joey's last hope evaporated. Yugi's resigned sigh really mirrored Joey's own thoughts, just a lot more polite and child friendly. 

“Oh my god.” 

At that a whole storm of shrieks broke out behind them. Turning around Joey saw the bushes and plants behind them wildly shake as if a spring wave was breaking towards them. Joey turned around to the others. “Time to go!” They were already running, but for a second Seth’s hand grasped his arm, and Joey looked up to see Seth looking at him, dark blue eyes burning with something he could barely decipher. 

“I'll come back for you once this is done.” He sounded completely serious, his voice a solemn promise. Joey couldn't do anything but nod. Seth turned and disappeared into the dark jungle surrounding them. And then Joey couldn't do anything but run. No time for thoughts, or his fast-beating heart—now speed was the only thing that counted.

The undead monkeys were behind them in droves. They were running, climbing, swinging themselves from liana to liana. Ryou just turned his head back once to look at them, and even while he did that he knew it was a mistake. When he looked forward again, he had lost the others. Only Tea, who had stumbled into him while he had slowed down to look back and thus had gotten lost with him, was beside him. That…wasn't good. 

Tea gestured to something in front of them. “Watch out!”

Her warning came almost too late. Before her eyes Ryou ran straight into one of the warriors who had attacked them back in England. Luckily, that particular warrior was as busy running for his life as they were, so they all just continued on their way, with more and more undead mini-hunters behind them.

It seemed to go on forever with the monkeys so close, Tea could almost feel their tiny spears behind her. And then they stumbled into another clearing surrounded by round, carved stones. Ryou's face lit up like he had just found all his Christmas presents at once. 

“Look! There's a burial ground! We're safe!” He was grinning so much at the warrior, that even if Tea hadn't known he was just talking bullshit right now, she wouldn't have believed a single word out of his mouth. If Ryou was looking that innocent he … Well he either was completely innocent, or he was planning something truly bad for you. They all had played enough game nights with him as game leader to know that.

Unfortunately for the warrior, however, he seemed to almost believe Ryou. “Really?” Out of breath he look from Ryou to Tea and for a second, for just a second, Tea almost told him the truth: that neither of them had any idea about the rules here. But then she remembered those guys shooting at them, almost killing them in the mansion, kidnapping Yugi, and doing their best to kill them again in the museum. Remembered what Seth had told her when she had asked him about what had happened at Hamunaptra, during one night on the boat. About the workers killed by those same warriors. They had had no problem killing them, no problem killing the workers, already deadly afraid. They might just have followed orders, but that was a weak excuse on the best of days. 

So she smiled up at him with the sweetest smile she was capable of, the one usually reserved for the most entitled, most arrogant and bad-mannered guests at the hotel, who spent the whole dance stepping on her toes while telling her all about how important they were and how wasted they were in this backward primitive country. “Of course. See those secret stones?” She gestured towards the stone surrounding them. “They'll never cross those.”

He blinked at her and then slowly relaxed, smiling back. Tea's smile widened, falling the moment he was looking away from her. Ryou caught her look and winked. They all stood there, waiting breathlessly as just a meter away from them killer monkey after killer monkey after killer monkey ran past them and their hiding place. Only a couple of ferns and bushes hid them; if only one monkey turned his head…

And then the last one passed.

For a second nobody dared to breathe, and Tea almost believed they could be safe, but then the last monkey suddenly appeared again, having backtracked and now looking straight at them. It looked sideways, back towards its comrades, and then shrugged, running straight towards them and using its spear like a high jump’s staff to launch itself over the stones towards them. Ryou screamed and ducked. Tea jumped sideways, so that the monkey flew over Ryou's cowered form and straight at the warrior behind them. The spear pierced directly into his heart. Tea screamed just as the monkey turned its head to look at her. 

To her great surprise it didn't attack, but screamed too, and clearly frightened—maybe by realising that it was alone and currently devoid of its weapon, which was locked into its victim’s body—jumped away from the corpse falling down and onto the nearest tree. From there it climbed towards the tree top and disappeared hissing at her all the way like an offended cat. It even managed to kick down a few skulls allong the way like they were coconuts.

Tea turned her head to look at Ryou, who just gave her a confused shrug. Then he nodded towards the dead warrior. 

“Sorry, our mistake.” Only to grin back at Tea while they ran. “At least now we know that even the undead monkeys are afraid of you when you're angry!” 

Tea laughed, which came out a bit subdued thanks to her needing her breath for running. “I'm going to take that as a compliment!”

Apart from losing two of their friends and having to hope that both Ryou and Tea could fend for themselves, the fight was actually going pretty well. So well that, when they ran towards the cliff which had a tree crossing it, big enough to run over it comfortably, Yugi almost stopped. That was way too convenient. But Jaden was already running across the trunk. Since there weren't any alternatives Yugi could see at that second, he followed after him, with Tristan shortly behind him, and Joey bringing up the rear.

From behind them came another scream, but this time it was music in Yugi's ears. “Wait for us!” Tea and Ryou, clearly alive and well, broke through the overgrowth, and when they ran over they tree bridge, Yugi winked at them. 

“Hurry up guys!” 

Joey was digging through his pockets when they crossed, and when Ryou, as the last one, jumped off the tree trunk, he nodded towards the dynamite stick in his hands. “What's that?” 

Joey grinned. “Just something in case of an emergency. I've learned”—he tossed the burning stick over the bridge to the monkeys—“that those things can save lives.” Seth could confirm that, but Joey would bet that he wouldn't exactly be happy about that. 

One of the monkeys caught the stick,. And while the friends ran, Joey caught a last look at two of the rotten things actually fighting over it, with the winner, the one who first caught it, kicking the other away. It ran over the tree trunk as a leader of the others and raised the stick like a torch. When they were halfway over the tree, the dynamite exploded, blowing up the bridge, and any monkeys not caught in the explosion fell down.

Joey grinned proudly at that. Dynamite. It always worked. 

At that second Yugi's voice cut through his triumph. “Guys…” He sounded so worried that Joey turned his head, and when he saw what Yugi was looking at, he cursed. The sun was rising, tinting the far-away horizon orange and red.

Tea grabbed Jaden and shoved him towards Joey. “You're the fastest.” 

Joey caught him by his arm with no hesitation. “Let's go!” 

They all ran on through the jungle. Joey and Jaden were ahead with the pyramid visible over the trees in front of them, still in the dark, almost tantalizing close and yet so far away that Joey's heart constricted. That…that would be impossibly close.

“Come on Jaden! Faster!” He was already out of breath from before. His muscles were complaining with every step he took, and yet he couldn't stop running, couldn't just give up, couldn't do anything but keep going forward. The pyramid ahead of him and the sky above turned from black to blue to a slight lilac tinted with orange. They way forward seemed to be longer the more they ran. He had lost the others already, somewhere far behind him, with only Jaden clinging to him as much as Joey held on to him, the only one still keeping up, a feat probably only possible through sheer fear and determination. 

The jungle around them seemed to be determined to fight them off. Roots, lianas and plants seemingly jumped out of nowhere to slow them down. The more Joey ran, the more it seemed like he wasn't moving at all, just slowly wading through syrup. 

“Joey! The bracelet!” He wasn't sure if Jaden’s scream was a sign that something was wrong, that the bracelet was beginning to hurt him, or just a panicked reminder that they were running out of time. Either way, he didn't fucking care. He just grabbed the boy and continued on, using his last reserves to go even faster than before, now carrying the boy.

Nothing was right about this situation anyway because Joey was pretty sure that normally the sun didn’t so fucking fast. The shadows before them disappeared almost the second Joey passed them. When he finally fled out of the jungle, into a vast open clearing and down an alley of sphinxes wearing jackal heads, not unlike the ram sphinxes at Karnak, the sunshine nipped at his heels. No fucking way was that natural. No. Just no; sunlight wasn't that fast. Something was messing with them. Again. Well, fuck that, Joey wasn't letting Jaden be killed by a supernaturally fast sunrise.

He flew down the alley and up the stairs, trying not to stumble over the roots and lianas and plants overgrowing the stairs. The sunlight was now half a meter behind him, but moving almost faster than he did; it gained on them with every second. With a last, desperate jump, Joey launched himself off the last stair and into the entrance of the pyramid, arms carrying Jaden outstretched before him. Above him the pyramid lit up when the sun reached it, with the diamond on top sparkling like it was sunlight itself.

Joey crashed against the stone wall next to the door leading deeper into the pyramid, and Jaden rolled down beside him. He could barely breathe, barely think straight now. But they were in the pyramid, they watched the sun rise, Jaden was still alive, and at the fringes of the jungle he could see the others running out to catch up to them. All still alive, all safe, and the world still not doomed. 

That—that wasn't too bad. 

“You know.” He could barely speak he was wheezing so hard. “It's not easy, having a family.” And what a family it was. Yugi, who would be happiest digging through ancient cursed temples and graves all day long and was the reincarnation or whatever of some fucking Egyptian priest. Tristan, his brother in all but blood, who really lived to kill his nerves. Serenity, his sister, who thankfully was unaware about what happened… Hopefully she wasn't too worried about them all now; they had left rather suddenly and without explanation. Tea, his other non-blood sister, who knew more than anyone else about what happened in this country and frankly made him afraid a couple of times. Ryou, who, as nice as he was, could be really creepy sometimes. And Jaden of course, the annoying younger brother. Hell, even that adrenaline-chaser Duke and Yugi's grandfather, maybe even Isis and her brother Malik, and Miho of course… Oh fuck, even Atem, the chaos-possessed mummy. He had tried to kill them so many times now and helped them too; he and his trapped curse were practically family now anyway. In Zorc's case there was always that one relative you wanted to kill and who wanted to kill you. And Seth of course, whatever the hell exactly was between them.

Joey looked up at the sunrise and smiled. Hm, maybe he didn't have it too bad when it came to family after all.

Next to him Jaden raised his hand to pet Joey's arm. “Oh yeah. But…you guys are really good at that.” 

Joey nodded at him, still smiling. “Thanks.” At that moment, with a soft click, the fucking bracelet finally jumped open. Jaden looked down at it—and chucked it as far away as he could, a determined, angry look on his face. The bracelet tumbled over the sand a couple of times before it came to rest, golden scorpion facing up and gleaming in the sunlight. Jaden let himself fall back and just hugged Joey, who returned the hug. Jaden’s head fell back towards the wall behind him and his eyes closed in relief. It was finally over.

Yugi and the others ran out of the forest, only stopping slightly before the alley of jackal sphinxes. Out of breath and squinting his eyes against the gleam of the pyramid—bright enough to blind if you looked at long enough, like a multiplication of the sun—a smile broke out over Yugi's face when he saw the two forms of Joey and Jaden, lying inside the entrance, holding onto each other, and clearly still breathing. “They made it!” 

Next to him he could see his friends smile too: Tea satisfied and relieved, Ryou grinning from ear to ear, and Tristan breathlessly and clearly proud. Yugi looked around, out of breath but still so relieved. But just as he was about to go on, to walk forward and join Joey and Jaden at the pyramid so they could finally go home, another figure walked down behind his friends. 

He was walking so calmly, so self assured it took Yugi a second too long to notice him, to notice that he didn't belong to them, and when he turned around and saw Gozaburo standing before him, he rammed the dagger he carried straight intro Yugi's heart. 


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

Shocked screams filled the air. Inside the pyramid Joey's eyes flew open, and Tea, Tristan and Ryou moved to help him, but Atem… Zorc just stepped forward and with a gesture of his hand all of Yugi's friends were hurled through the air, landing roughly a few steps away in the sand. Yugi couldn't move, hardly noticed what happened, hardly noticed Joey running out of the temple screaming his name.

It was all so far away.

The only sharp thing was Gozaburo's…Aknadin's face as he jerked the dagger out of him, with only the barest hint of a satisfied smile on his face. He stepped away with a passing sideways glance and began to circle Yugi. Yugi himself was still unable to grasp what had happened. Then his legs gave way under him and he collapsed into the sand.

Joey was already down the Sphinx Alley when Yugi's body hit the sand; with Jaden, being a bit slower, a few meters behind him. He didn't even know if he wanted to reach Yugi, if he wanted what he already knew to be confirmed. That Yugi was… That Yugi was…

Jaden turned his head, trying to keep the tears from spilling, and when he looked up he saw the lord walking by outside the alley, towards the temple, with Gozaburo carrying the Book of the Dead only a few steps behind him. When Gozaburo caught his eye, the man—Yugi's murderer—smiled and raised a couple of fingers from the book to wave at him. It felt like he had used another dagger on Jaden.

“Tea! Tristan! Ryou!” Joey knelt beside Yugi, lifting his friend’s head up a bit, and screamed desperately. He was still alive; somehow Yugi was still clinging on, but blood strained his clothes, and drained down into the sand. His breathing had become shallower and shallower, and his eyes were more and more unfocused, losing their sparkle, the very life that had always made him Yugi. It wouldn't take long now. Joey had seen people die before, he knew that it was too late and yet… And yet he couldn't help but hope for one last miracle. That one of the others maybe had a solution.

“Yugi?” Jaden stopped shortly behind him, his voice shaking and afraid. “He's… He's going to be all right, isn't he?” Jaden didn't sound like he believed that, not really, and even as Joey turned his head to look at him—as he fought to put a smile on his face which wasn't anything but a grimace—he knew the boy wouldn't believe him either. 

“He'll…he'll be fine.” He didn't believe himself after all, his voice breaking and barely able to get the words out. Yugi was still struggling to breathe, too stubborn to just quit even now, but there was nothing…no bandages, nothing to quell the blood flow… They had nothing to help him.

He gestured towards Jaden to get a bit away; the boy didn’t need to see that. Then Ryou was there next to Jaden, hugging him, turning him a bit away while shaking himself. Jaden clung to him like a lifeline, and Tea and Tristan knelt down next to Yugi and Joey…

And Joey could hardly see anything now through his tears. No…not Yugi. Not…not Yugi.

Ryou whispered something to Jaden; Joey couldn't hear what exactly. He said something too, something like it would be all right, that Yugi would be fine… But there was Tea sobbing next to him, and Tristan's face wet with tears, and all he could see through his own tears was Yugi's blood… There was too much of it. 

“You're strong.” If anything was true about Yugi, this was it. He was strong, he was stubborn, he had to live. He had to! “You're gonna make it. You're gonna make it.” Joey's voice was getting softer, more broken with each repeat, the sentence more a desperate conjuring—a prayer, the first one he had uttered since he had been older than ten—than something he truly believed in. Yugi had to live. Please…

“What do I do? What do we do, Yugi?” He truly didn't know. What would they do without him? Yes, they had their lives, at least Tea did, and the others would find places for themselves too… But how could they return home, to the mansion that would now be empty, without Yugi talking about another myth, trying to convince them about just one more dig, one more excavation… Oh god, somebody would have to tell his grandfather…

Yugi looked up at him, and fuck, Joey could see him struggling to smile, even now. “You'll be fine. I know…” His voice was barely audible, nothing more than a breathy whisper, and Joey was repeating “No, no, no…” over and over again, one last plea. And fuck Yugi suddenly looked so afraid; even despite the smile, there was fear in his eyes, and then his struggling breath stopped.

“No, no, don’t…Yugi? Yugi?” Joey slightly shook Yugi now, but even as he did—even as he couldn't see anything anymore because there were so many tears, couldn't hear anything but the soft sobbing of the others—he knew one thing: the light in Yugi's eyes had left. He was gone.

“Come back. Yugi. Come back.” But no matter how much Joey pleaded, voice so soft and full of tears he could hardly hear the words himself, Yugi just lay there, unmoving, eyes wide open without seeing anything, at the base of one of those damned dog-sphinx-things. And nothing they did—not their tears, not their pleading, not Tea's hand on his shoulder, her hugging him and Tristan, not Ryou and Jaden kneeling down next to them, not all their tears and grief—would ever bring him back.

Atem had heard the screams behind him, the pleading and the grieving. But he couldn't turn around. Just like he could do nothing but watch as Aknadin had walked towards Yugi and… He had had enough time to act. Had thrown everything he had, whatever shadow magic, whatever power and strength he still had left against his prison, against the walls of his own mind and body to tear his uncle away from him. To even kill him himself if he had to, to destroy his dagger and make him freeze on the spot. Anything. Anything at all. But it had been useless. His body had just stood there, forcing him to watch. Atem's own screams, his own pleas, had been heard by only one being whose laughter had overlayed them. Now, after the Dark One had made him watch, he couldn't even look back to Yugi and the others, because the Dark One was walking away towards the Scorpion King and the end of the world. 

And for a second that didn't even matter anymore. For the first time in all the millennia Atem almost gave up the fight against him, as useless as it was now. He couldn't do anything. Couldn’t even save Yugi who…who…he had failed worse than last time. As the Dark One proceeded deeper and deeper into the temple, the only thing Atem still heard was the sound of his own tears, his grief, locked inside his own head.

The golden bracelet glinted in the sunlight just as Hirutani passed by the entrance. That night in the jungle had been one of the best nights in his entire life. He could still feel the blood pulsing in his veins, singing in his ears, alongside the screams of the men and the screeches of the monkeys he had killed. He couldn't even tell the difference between them at this point. It had been glorious. And now the bracelet was here, glinting ever so invitingly. The next step in this play….

He glanced back towards the end of the alley where his dog was kneeling with the others, filling the air with his pathetic wails. His distraction was gone then. A pity. Hirutani would have liked to take care of him himself, after what he had seen in the temple… But still, he knew his attack dog quite well, after all. This was perfect. After the first minutes of grief, anger would follow and when that happened… 

Hirutani smiled as he bent down to pick up the bracelet. Joey would come to him, on his own volition and full of vengeance. And in the meantime, Hirutani would set up something that would entertain him afterwards…

The first set of stairs had seemed almost endless, starting directly by the entrance of the pyramid and going down through barely-carved stones. Atem had hardly noticed them passing, all his energy already spent and his mind elsewhere, still above-ground where Yugi's body slowly lost all traces of his life under Ra's light. At least he could be sure his soul would pass on with no problems. There was no way his heart wouldn't pass the test, and even without the correct rites, as clever as he had proven himself even in this life, as full of knowledge as he was… His soul would find the way to Osiris’ Halls. It was hardly a comfort, but it would have to be enough.

But now their surroundings changed, stirring even his curiosity slightly. The Dark One walked down a gigantic cave, with only a few golden lotus columns rising here and there out of the darkness of the abyss surrounding them. The stairs beneath their feet were well-carved, lined with low railings at each side, and the way was lit by torches placed on pedestals every few feet along them. Occasionally he could even see statues of Anubis, the guardian of the underworld. Again, it was a comfort, if a small one.

His uncle walked beside him, self-assured and with a satisfied smile on his face. Triumph. Everything he had ever wanted in his last life was within reach now, and with the one whom he had pledged to serve at his side. Of course he was looking happier than Atem ever remembered seeing him. Looking at him made him wish he could possess his powers again to wipe that smile off his face, tear him from limb to limb and made him pay for everything. Mahad, Isis, Karim, Siamon… All killed either by him or the Dark One last time around, while the kingdom fell and hundreds of others met their end too in fear and confusion. And now Yugi…Heba…one of the few who had survived last time, who had had a life even after everything…who had had a second one now, had friends and family in this time… Yugi…

They reached a small quadratic plateau at the end of the stairs, lined by two statues, one of Horus and and one of Seth, kneeling opposite of one another. Their arms were crossed over their chests, one hand holding a papyrus plant, the others a lotus flower. Their gazes crossed directly at the carving on the floor, a gigantic scorpion with wings and lined by the names of the ennead. His uncle and the Dark One stepped onto the carving directly between the statues.

The eyes of the statues gleaned up as if lit by hidden fire, and before anyone, even the Dark One, could react, black smoke whirled out of their statues’ mouth and engulfed them both. It felt like he was being flayed alive and burned from the inside out. Almost as if he had to endure the Homdai again: an endless, indistinguishable sea of pain, through which nothing could cut. He was torn limb from limb, burned and reformed again, only to be thrown back into the pain again; being torn in two directions at once, as if something was fighting inside and outside of him. Screams filled the air and it took him a moment to realise that part of them were his own. Or the Dark One’s too, hopefully. The rest must have belonged to his uncle, and there was a small wave of satisfaction that at last he was suffering too. It wasn't enough, probably nothing would ever be enough, to make up for all that pain, all those lives lost, but still…

And then suddenly the pain ceased, as if it had never been there. The relief was so sudden, so powerful, it knocked the breath out of him again, and while he tried to breathe, tried to think, something loosened inside him. It divorced from his very soul and while he watched, eyes still halfway closed, still barely able to breathe in the darkness still whirling around him, an even darker shape formed—so dark it was almost invisible, twisting and turning against the black and grey smoke dragging it away. 

_ No such power may pass this place.  _ The voice, deep, growling with every word, called through his head. Before Atem could even grasp what it had said another one, similar but lighter, followed. 

_ It has been long enough. _

With that the shadows whirled away, dragging the darkness inside them with them, and standing on the platform, Atem keeled over. He grasped his knees to stay upright, out of breath, shaking in every muscle, every part of his body, and barely able to stand. But for the first time in three thousand years, he was without another presence in his mind and body. 

The Dark One was gone.

“My lord?” His uncle’s voice rang out, suddenly so unsure and confused. Atem's head snapped up as a smile appeared on his face. With one gesture of his hand his uncle was lifted off his feet and thrown down the corridor, deeper into this pyramid’s labyrinth, as the shadows began to come alive around him. He was still weak, his energies drawn and spent, but for this… For this he would have enough power. 

“Not anymore.”

Joey didn't know how much time had passed. It felt like forever. They were still kneeling around Yugi's corpse, unable to move, to really think about what to do next. Tea had closed Yugi's eyes at last, and crossed his hands over his stomach. Lying like that, it only looked like he was sleeping, not…

Joey closed his eyes for a second and stood up. “You guys stay here.” His voice was as empty as he felt. Jaden blinked up at him through the last of his tears, while Tea and Ryou, after a second, just nodded. 

But Tristan rose too. “You are not going alone.” There was no room for discussion in his tone, and so Joey just nodded. He hadn't expected anything else from Tristan after all. They grabbed their weapons, and turned to go, all in the complete silence that seemed to hang over them, stifling every sound, every emotion, and leaving nothing behind. Before they could go, however, Tea called after them. 

“Wait!” 

Joey turned around, and when he met her gaze he saw that her eyes burned. 

“Make them pay.” He had seldom heard that much anger, that much pure hate, in her voice, and when he nodded, it was a solemn promise. Oh yes. He intended to do that.

The rooms underneath the pyramid were dark and far colder than Hirutani had imagined. Carefully walking through them, he grinned when he stepped into a larger room lined with statues and columns, and found the whole floor covered with a sea of scorpions. Oh yes, that was going to be fun indeed. He was almost disappointed when the scorpions—as soon as he stepped into the room, and the bracelet on his wrist glinted in the strange, bluish-grey light—scuttled out of his way and disappeared into various cracks and fissures, and somewhere that looked like a river bed running through the room. Though that river being made up of scorpions at least made it look halfway interesting.

However, all thoughts about the sacred creatures soon disappeared, as he caught sight of what was waiting for him. The gigantic sculpture of a scorpion, so massive that it seemed to tower over the whole wall, and looking like it actually had too many legs and stingers and claws even for such a creature. Something about it looked deeply wrong, and that made him sure that he had reached his goal.

Hirutani stepped closer, between the two claws which curved over the statue’s main body protectively, and mustered the set-up before him. One gigantic eye was painted on the scorpion’s back, and directly beneath that, a mouth with four sharp teeth and a perfectly round hole in the middle was carved out of it. So that was where the bracelet was supposed to go.

He huffed. Now he really could have used his two friends. Too bad they had to die earlier. Or even that annoying boy. With this setup, it was pretty obvious that whomever would stick his hand into that hole would lose it, probably very painfully. Ah, what the hell. If the boy had the insolence not to suffer that for him, and his ungrateful helpers had died earlier, he would have to do it himself. At least it would be interesting.

Without hesitation he plunged the hand wearing the bracelet into the hole.

It felt wet and moist and cold, and Hirutani heard a soft click when the bracelet caught onto a mechanism. At that sound, a breeze rippled through the room, accompanied by distant roaring, and all over the room flames and torched lit up to replace bluish light. The entire room changed into the warm orange glow of gold, stone and light.

They could hardly see anything as they walked, the corridor ahead of them so dark that a part of Joey regretted that they hadn’t had any torches left. He could barely see his own hand in front of his eyes, and only Tristan's breathing served as a sign that his friend was still here. However, somehow, that no longer mattered.

It didn't matter that they were walking through a dark, cursed pyramid that was probably a gigantic death trap; that mummies, undead monkeys or even some of Hamunaptra's beetles could jump at them at any moment. Not even the chance to run into Hirutani mattered. In his current mood, Joey would have almost relished that meeting. There was no fear, no worry, left in him. Nothing but a constant pain, and anger—so much anger that he could drown in it.

He hadn’t felt that way since he had left Hirutani's gang, this sea of anger and hurt which had been a constant companion in his life. He had locked it away and kept it under control because he was better… He had tried to be better than that, had hated…still hated the person he became when that anger took over. The kind of person who didn't care for anyone and anything save the chance to hurt someone else. But now the dam had broken, and he wasn't sure if he could rebuild it again. At the moment he didn't even want to try. 

Because if he needed that darkness to face the ones who had killed Yugi, to face Zorc, to make them all pay, he would use it. 

Because nothing else mattered anymore.

The floor underneath him trembled, a soft rippled coursed through the air, and the darkness surrounding them vanished. He could see it disappear like the tide withdrawing, as left and right the corridor walls’ torches sprang to life. He caught Tristan’s eye, who just blinked at him.

“Well, I guess something just woke up.”

The ground shook beneath their feet, and Tea and Ryou jumped up, as a wave of pure blackness broke out from the pyramid, turning the Sphinx Alley, the sand beneath their feet, and every plant in the jungle as far as they could see black. 

“Guys!” Jaden’s cry made them turn around, and they were just in time to watch, eyes wide and mouth open, as a gigantic shadow shaped like a scorpion with wings flew over the pyramid and disappeared. 

Tea clasped her shaking hands together. “Oh god…”

The scorpion-shaped shadow covered the entire desert, its head visible, dragging a solid mass of blackness behind it. Then the head disappeared too, and it just looked like a mass of tiny scorpion bodies, a whole sea of them, lapping over each other, running faster and faster, turning everything they touched dark. The tribes of the Medjay rode to meet it, and where their lines drew closer to it, the scorpion shadows changed course and withdrew, dispersing like smoke in the sun, or seeping into the tainted sand like water and leaving only grey sand behind.

Seth rode at the head of their battle lines. When the final shadows disappeared, he raised his hand, gesturing for his men to stop and wait. That was it then. The Scorpion King had risen and Joey and the others…his friends…had failed. He couldn't waste any time thinking about what that might mean, whom of them, if any, might still be alive. If Joey… 

Grief and worries were something he couldn't afford now; those emotions would just get him and his people killed. He shoved everything down into his mind and locked up tightly. He and his people would live to see another sunset and sunrise; there would be time for worries and grief. If not, it didn't matter anyway. 

When he spoke his voice was calm and completely in control. “So it begins.”

The darkness had disappeared as fast as it had come, to some place outside the oasis, and so Ryou, Tea and Jaden were left again with Yugi's body and one thing to do: wait. Tea sat down next to Jaden and cradled the crying boy next to her. She murmured words of comfort, which given the way here voice shook and her eyes still blinked away tears, were meant as much for herself as for the boy. 

Ryou was pacing. His tears had dried, even if their traces were still visible on his skin and burning behind his eyes. As much as it sucked, as unfair as it was, you truly could deal with grief better the more experience you had with it. Wasn't it fucking great that Ryou had so much experience with loss and grief over the last few years? First his mother and his sister and then his father, two years ago killed…killed by his own hands, for a given value of hands, even if it had been Zorc. That now with Yugi, the pain wasn't quite as suffocating, quite as paralysing anymore. That he could jump straight from disbelieve to anger. Wasn't he lucky?

Either way, the anger was there, and it didn't seem to go away. With each step he took, the feeling grew. Zorc… It was Zorc again. That…demon, chaos snake, chaos personified, Isfet, whatever it was, had taken so much from him. His life, his body, his father; had made him kill, had lead people to their death; and now…now it had killed one of his friends, one of the people who had saved him last time. And Ryou was so tired of that.

He didn't want Zorc to go on like that. He didn't want him to win again. Zorc had taken enough; he wouldn't get Yugi too. There had to be a way to…to bring Yugi back somehow, to restore his soul or whatever. Ryou had so many memories from his time with Zorc—his plans, his thoughts, parts of his memories— that there had to be something in this mess which could help them resurrect…

And suddenly Ryou stumbled, nearly falling over his own feet. Of course! He had been blind and so stupid—it was obvious. Zorc's own disciple had carried their salvation, the thing which would save Yugi all the way here for them! 

“The Book of Amun takes life…” He was whispering now, his voice shaking, a grin spreading over his face. The same book which had resurrected Zorc both this and last time… Oh, he would hate that! And Yugi…oh Yugi would love that, and that was making it even better. “And the Book of the Dead grants life!” 

He was shouting now, and he didn't care. With a big grin he jumped around, and smiled at both Tea and Jaden who looked at him like he had lost his mind. “The Book of the Dead! Come on, guys!” With one hand he dragged up Tea, with the other Jaden. “Help me carry Yugi, I know what we are going to do!” 

This time, Zorc wouldn't win.

Hirutani jerked at his hand. Whatever had caught the bracelet in the statue just wouldn't budge. He was just about to kick the statue when something pierced his skin and he just had time to scream when pain, as sharp and fresh as knives or teeth, raced up and down his arm. Something cut down circle wise into his hand. Waves of pain, more intense than he had ever felt before, flew through him, and almost brought him to his knees while something…something was eating his hand. Slurping noises accompanied the torture. Hirutani screamed his soul out, yet he also grinned from ear to ear. This…this was the most alive he had felt in ages. Since Joey had left, in fact.

It was over way too soon. Hirutani stumbled back and his left hand, only skeletal remains now, was covered by some sort of greenish slime. The aftershock of the pain still coursed through his veins, making him gasp for breath. His smile widened. Well, that was done now. Time to look for his attack dog.

They heard the sounds of fighting before they saw it. Tristan drew Joey back just in time, or otherwise the upper part of a statue—cleaved cleanly in half by…something that looked like a sharpened shadow—would have hit him. When they both, a bit more careful than Joey would have liked, peeked around the corner, he didn't trust his eyes for a moment.

Somehow the dream team of Zorc and Gozaburo must have run into a serious disagreement, because, if Joey currently wasn't hallucinating, they were doing their best to kill each other. There were no weapons involved, just shadows clashing against shadows, wielded by both of them. They drove into each other and threw themselves through the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Joey could actually see the Book of the Dead lying on the floor, a few feet away from the fighters, as if it had gotten thrown around and been forgotten.

There was no sense to the fight, no form or practiced movements, but pure rage, the kind which took a lifetime to cultivate and could barely be contained. It was wild, it was messy, they both fought with the clear intent to kill the other…and it was exactly the same kind of fight Joey had been itching for since Yugi's sightless eyes had stared back at him. 

He twisted his head towards Tristan, a dark smile on his face. “What do you say? Time to get involved?” He didn't care whom of the two bastards they took down first, Zorc or Gozaburo. They both had to pay. Something in Tristan's face twitched, and when he opened his mouth to answer, it almost looked like he would disagree. But whatever he wanted to say, he would never get the chance. 

“Oh Joey, you want to start this dance without me again?” It didn't matter, it still didn't matter and hardly cut through the wall of anger around Joey. And yet his head still flew around to look back, almost in tandem with Tristan, to see Hirutani standing behind them, a mad smile on his face and clutching one of the axes the statues around here carried in their right hand. His left… Joey didn't even want to know what had happened.

“Come on, mutt. Time to learn your lesson.” Joey drew a deep breath, and shared a short glance with Tristan. So be it. Hirutani first. Right now he was just angry enough that he might actually be able to see this through.

Despite asking for help, Ryou had still ended up as the one to carry Yugi. Mostly because anything that would have involved both him and Tea carrying Yugi turned out to be highly impractical. Jaden ran ahead, carrying a torch, somehow walking through the labyrinth underneath this pyramid like he had been born there. Tea hurried along just a few steps behind him and turned her head to look at Ryou. 

“You know that this is only going to work for someone who can actually read Ancient Egyptian, right? I don't know about you, but that's not my strongest language.”

No, that had always been Yugi's metier. Ryou ignored the pain piercing through him at the thought, and smiled up at her. “We'll find a way.” Ok, that sounded more optimistic than he felt. He could read Ancient Egyptian; his father had been an adventurer, after all, and given how obsessed he had been with Hamunaptra, learning what he could about Ancient Egypt had been one of the only ways Ryou had been able to draw his attention. If he thought about it, he had lost his father long before Zorc had ever entered the picture… That didn't matter now. Zorc's stint in his body had left a bit of knowledge behind, so Ryou was pretty sure he could read the signs now, if he hadn't before. But pretty sure wasn't a hundred percent.

They stopped when the corridor ahead of the suddenly split into two different ways. Ryou looked from one to the other. “Ah, so where do we go?” When he had his brilliant idea, he hadn't thought they would have to walk for so long. Or that there would be such a labyrinth of twists and turns inside this pyramid. It was just the resting place of the Scorpion King; he had thought that guy wanted to be woken up. A straight path made most sense! 

“We go right.” Jaden pointed with his torch, sounding completely sure. 

Tea looked at him. “How do you know?” 

For a second Jaden hesitated, then he stepped to the wall in front of them.  _ “Kasheesh Osirian Nye.” _ With each word his torch pointed towards a set of hieroglyphs written on the wall in a straight line. “Basically”—the boy grinned at them—“this way to the Scorpion King.” Oh yes, Ryou could even see the scorpion sign there…that could actually be true. Jaden’s smile froze and fell. “Yugi taught me.” He walked on ahead, and as Tea and Ryou followed him a small, hopeful and triumphant smile appeared on Tea's lips. 

“That might just work.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but Ryou answered her smile with a bright one of his own. Oh yes, it would.

Seth watched as the black sand pulsed, rising and falling again. Heaps of sand, too many to count, rose from the floor, like the scarabs of Hamunaptra breaking free, only to form itself into dark shapes: rotten jackals standing on their hind legs, eyes bright and teeth sharp, wearing golden armour and jewellery and baring their teeth at the Medjay. The army of the underworld, a mockery of the god guarding it, had risen.

To say that this fight didn't quite go as planned would have been an understatement. The loss of his hand did nothing to even slow down Hirutani, who didn't even seem to notice that he was lacking it. He had already been in his most dangerous state, drunk on blood and pain, and without any care for himself. Tristan had almost gotten his head knocked off by Hirutani's axe in the first seconds of the fight. Joey had tried to save his friend, only to be thrown into the room ahead of them. Because Hirutani wanted to kill Tristan now, but he still wanted to play with Joey first.

Joey found himself in the middle of that bad guy fight with those fucking shadows both of them were throwing around heading straight towards him. He dodged, knowing it was already too late. Those abominations were faster than him, and given what they had done to the statues and the whole fucking stone room, cutting it to pieces like it was fucking butter, he was pretty sure Hirutani had just denied himself the joy of killing Joey himself. But in the last second, one shadow twisted, jumping over and around Joey, and pushing the others aside.

Joey blinked up, to find Zorc standing next to him, slowly lowering his hand. “Are you all right?” Fucking Bastard…

Joey just blinked and flew around, his own axe raised to attack him. He didn't know what game that monster played now, and didn't care. If he thought Joey would lower his guard that easily, he had another thing coming.

Zorc just raised his hand, and Joey's axe stopped midair, as if frozen in time. Joey tugged at it, but even as his hand glided down the shaft, it wouldn't move. 

“It's me. Atem.” Zorc took another step towards him, creepy red eyes looking at Joey as if they could burn themselves into his head, almost convinced him by pure force. There was so much power behind them, Joey almost stumbled back. “Zorc is gone.”

Joey snorted. “Yeah, right. And I'm just going to believe that why?” He continued to tug at his axe, trying to will this fucking thing into moving by determination alone if he had to. 

Zorc…Atem…whatever, stopped ahead of him, tilting his head sideways to look at him. “Because Zorc wouldn't waste time fooling you. He would just kill you.” His voice sounded soft, melodic. Like Atem's… But wouldn't Zorc sound the same?

Joey stopped and looked at the man before him. Really looked. He looked exactly like Zorc had in Cairo, stepping through the masses of his hypnotised zombie followers. Face carved like an elegant pharaoh statue, an inborn arrogance and self-confidence in every step, oozing power even if he stood completely still. His hair was still like Yugi's, and he was dressed in black. But those creepy red eyes…those eyes were different. Zorc's eyes had been empty—always. Even when he had triumphed, when he had laughed at the offer he had made Yugi, even when he had been overcome with anger at finding them in Hamunaptra to fight him. His face may have moved, but his eyes never showed emotion.

There was pain in these ones.

Pain, and anger and determination…and fucking hell, he was right. Zorc would just kill them. He had proven that. 

Joey slowly lowered his hands, and as he did, he noticed that his axe was finally lowering with it. He grasped the handle tightly before it could fall on his feet. “So, how the hell did that happen?” 

Atem drew a shaky breath, and closed his eyes. “At the entrance of the temple, the two statues…I think…” He couldn't speak for a second, and when he opened his eyes again they were shining. “I think the gods took him away. Nothing too powerful is allowed to enter here.” His voice was soft, almost unbelieving, and Joey couldn't blame him. That was…quite a surprise.

He opened his mouth to ask something else, without hardly knowing what it was, when behind him Tristan’s voice called out. “Joey?! Guys, could you save that joyous reunion for later?! I'm in a bit of trouble here!”

Shit! Joey flinched, and flew around, only to find Tristan standing with his back to him, locked in an axe-to-axe battle with Hirutani, clearly blocking his way. Gozaburo must have used his chance and disappeared. Joey lifted his axe, and nodded towards Atem. “Ok, I'm going to believe that for now. But that guy there”—he nodded towards Hirutani—“belongs to me.” Time to end this.

Gozaburo ran, stopping only when he couldn't hear the sounds of the fight behind him any longer. The Book of the Dead, which he had clutched to his chest, tumbled from his arms, as he leaned forward to catch his breath. What…how…how had it gone so wrong? Lord Zorc had been in control, the annoying high priest was finally dead, his nephew shouldn't have had any chance to rise again…nobody had been left who could have stopped his lord… And yet it had happened. Lord Zorc was gone again and he would have to deal with that. 

He shrugged. That wouldn't be as hard as it could be. With all signs pointing to the Scorpion King being awake, he just would have to find him, kill him, and take command of his army. Then the plan would be back on track. This was just a slight detour. He straightened his back and opened his eyes, ready to go on, when behind him someone called his name.

“Gozaburo Kaiba. Founder and CEO of Kaiba Corporation, currently the largest weapons manufacturer in the world, and the one who dug up Hamunaptra. I would say it's a pleasure to finally meet you, but—” A young woman stepped out from one of the doorways leading to his room. She wore practical travel clothes, a short brown bob, and the smile with which she regarded him was full of cold fury. “It's time that someone taught you a lesson.”


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

Distract him. That had been the plan, so that Jaden could grab the Book of the Dead and resurrect Yugi. Simple, straightforward, and Tea had jumped at the chance. Now as she regarded Gozaburo with an even gaze, standing her ground even as he turned around and walked towards her, an unbelieving, clearly mocking smile on his lips, she could feel the bile rise in her throat, the anger shimmer in her veins. This was the man who had killed Yugi, who had led the workers to their deaths at Hamunaptra. Oh yes, she was going to enjoy her revenge.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Jaden appear behind the cover of a broken stone altar and grab the book, before he disappeared again. Good, that was running surprisingly smoothly. 

Gozaburo was now standing directly before her. “And you are the one who is going to do that? Don't make me laugh.” 

She smiled. “Oh, I'm going to be the one who laughs here, don't worry. And I'm not alone.” At her words Gozaburo's eyebrow raised even higher, and he turned around but only fast enough to catch a look of Ryou, smiling at him. 

“Hello. This is for Yugi.” His fist flew for Gozaburo's face. Unfortunately, Gozaburo caught him straight away, and tossed him aside like he was made of paper. 

A gong. The sound was unmistakable, clanging through every nook and cranny in the pyramid, making the floor and the walls below and around Joey shake, and the torches flicker and disappear. He just caught a last look—at Tristan, eyes widen, managing to push Hirutani away a bit; and at the sudden shock in Atem's face—before they all stood in darkness.

With every strike of the gong the flames flickered to life again, plunging them from darkness to light to darkness again. Joey grasped the arm of his axe tighter. Somewhere in the darkness he could hear Hirutani's crazy laughter. “He's coming!” 

And then suddenly the light stayed, even though it was barely more than flickering flames interrupted by shaky shadows, and the room they all stood in had completely changed.

It was almost like they were back into the treasury of Hamunaptra, without the mountains of money. But there was gold everywhere, on the columns, the statues, the bowls full of flames lighting the scene. The walls were uncarved stone, like a cave, and between the path they were standing on, which took different turns and twists through the room, and the platform in its middle, dark cliffs broke down, made of jagged stone. The columns rose from the darkness below like flowers and on the platform ahead Joey could see a golden gong bearing the relief of a scorpion carrying a sun disk between its mandibles. Next to the scorpion were warrior-like figures standing in groups, and the whole scene was surrounded by ring of dwarfish, identical men. Joey had seen this god before, had known his name, but at the moment he neither cared nor could he remember. Yugi would have known that. He would have known what that set up meant.

The gong continued on. Hirutani pushed Tristan down, almost throwing him over the edge into the abyss below, and started to run towards the platform, towards the gong. Joey ran after him, stopping only for a second to see if Tristan was ok, but his friend was already climbing to his feet and in pursuit too. He could hear Atem behind him, but he didn't turn his head to check.

All he saw was Hirutani, the platform, the gong. The Scorpion King would come, and no matter how much he still feared Hirutani underneath all his anger, there was one thing Joey absolutely knew: he would be damned before he let him kill the Scorpion King. Hirutani was the last one who should get control of the armies of the underworld.

He ran on, jumping over a deep crack in the ground below him, and didn't try to think about the red, human-like creatures, twisting and grasping in endless rows in the crack, their screams filling the air. He didn’t want to know what they were. That they would be new regular guests in his nightmares should he live, was enough knowledge for him.

Just as he landed, a roar shook the room, loud enough to almost tear the walls down and break away the ground beneath his feet. He stumbled backwards, arms rearing for some sort of balance. He got an excellent view of the things—humans, lost souls, whatever it was that was down there, making that unholy noise—reaching up as if they were just waiting for him to fall down.

Atem's hand grabbed his, and Joey found himself pulled forward, back on his feet and away from the abyss filled with cursed souls. Next to him Tristan landed too, a bit out of breath, but otherwise fine, and Joey only had time to nod at Atem in thanks, before the roar rang out again, nearly taking the entire room down. Just as quickly, there was silence.

Joey didn't wait to wonder or fear what might be coming now, what that silence could mean. It would probably be worse than he could imagine either way. He just raised his axe, and charged forward, directly into Hirutani who raised his own axe to meet him with a clang. 

“Finally! That's how I like you!” Good for him. 

Over their locked blades Joey looked up directly into Hirutani's eyes. They hadn't been so close to each other since that night, and when Joey now looked at him, it all came back. The man Hirutani had just killed, eyes wide and afraid, the lightning in the air, Hirutani's wide smile… He loved this. And that sentence—“That’s how I like you”—still filled Joey with revulsion and loathing for himself. Even now, when he let loose with everything he had, he still hated and feared that part of himself. The monster he could possibly become, which he saw so clearly reflected in Hirutani.

But now, looking at him, for the first time, Joey wasn't afraid. Tristan was there, beside him, and Atem too, as strange as he was for a companion. And the rest of his family wasn't far behind even if Yugi…if Yugi was dead, Joey would have been willing to bet that some part of him was still here. He was too stubborn to just leave them alone like that. He wasn’t alone; he had friends and family… 

Seth's face in the jungle flickered before his eyes. “I'll come back for you…” No, he wasn't the boy in Hirutani's gang any more, even if he still could explode in anger. 

So many years he had spent running away from himself, away from Hirutani, from his past, as if he ever could escape it. Yugi appeared in his mind, standing on the ship, grinning from ear to ear. “It all makes sense now.” His strange past and vision had been a foundation. The tattoo on his hand itched, and with a determined thrust, Joey shoved Hirutani backwards. Fuck him, fuck running, and fuck fear. He had a past, so what… Yugi would probably point out that he needed one to have a future. So he would take it, accept it as much as he could, as much as it would hurt… And he refused to let Hirutani define that any more, to define who he was, even in opposition to him, and he would start by making sure he wouldn't harm either his family or the world. Fuck that asshole.

Hirutani stumbled, a bit surprised, eyes widening, but then he caught himself, and with a twist of his hand, both of their axes flew down one of the ravines in the room. Joey didn't lose even a second; the moment Hirutani looked back at him, Joey's fist hit his face. And then he froze in surprise because this, in all the years he had known him, was the first time he had ever managed to land a hit on Hirutani. It was the first time he saw him bleed, even if it was just a small trickle down his chin.

Hirutani froze too. He raised his non-skeletal hand to his face and slowly wiped the blood away to look at it. The whole room held its breath, and then Hirutani smiled, wide and mad. “Ah, so this is how it's going to be. You want to kill me.” He sounded absolutely delighted at this, and Joey felt streams of revulsions run down his back. Oh fuck, that bastard would love that too. Fuck. “And then what? You are going to kill the Scorpion King too, and take his army?”

“That's about the plan, yes.” Tristan appeared next to Joey, axe raised. His gaze was focused on Hirutani, but for just a second his eyes wandered over to Joey, as if to ask if he was all right. Joey smiled, and nodded. 

Atem stepped up on his other side and smiled slightly too. “And you are in the way.” Fuck, Joey was going to hug those two idiots if they kept this up. Seeing Hirutani's clearly angry look, he shot him a grin. 

“What? Did you think I'd actually fight you on my own? Sorry, mate. I don't respect you enough for that.” 

The army of the underworld drew closer. Seth had ridden along the entire line of the Medjay, and when he stopped, he and the demon who was their leader were exactly opposite. The demon raised his weapon, a staff with a sharp, gleaming bronze half-moon on each end, and the army of the underworld stopped.

Hirutani growled and leaped forward. He was going for Joey, but Tristan caught him first, throwing his punch aside. Atem pushed him back, diving under his swing and landing a hit, before Hirutani and Joey faced each other again. 

Joey lunged.

Seth raised his sword mirrored by his brothers and sisters behind him, just as the leader of the demon army did the same. Their pre-battle war cries echoed over the desert.

They were fighting him two-on-one, and even though neither Ryou nor Tea were quite as practiced in fighting as Joey and Tristan were, for his age Gozaburo was impressively fit. The man was fighting them off with ease, pretty much having them on the defence the whole time and hardly giving either of them the time or opening they needed to attack. Ryou could already feel a black eye forming, and Tea had a scratch down her chin while Gozaburo wasn't even out of breath. 

Ryou shot him a bitter grin. “Is that all that you've got?” Oh please, hopefully this was all that he had If he was just playing around now, Jaden would have to resurrect them both together with Yugi.

As his answer, Gozaburo attacked again, hitting Ryou's shoulder so fast and hard, he felt the pain reverberate through his whole body. At the same time, however, Tea flew around and somehow, Ryou couldn't quite see how, she managed to land a direct hit in Gozaburo's face, directly on his nose. The look of pure and angry astonishment on his face was enough to make them both share a grin. Maybe they actually could survive this fight. However, in the next second he was attacking again and they were back to playing defensive. 

With one loud cry the Medjay charged forward, Seth directly in the front, and the demons did the same. They clashed after what seemed like an eternity, but what was probably only seconds, horses and demons and men descending into one big entanglement, with metal colliding with metal. The first bodies started to hit the floor.

Gozaburo stepped up to a statue, and, with deliberate slowness, withdrew the weapons it carried: a copesh sword and an axe. Tea and Ryou glanced around at the same time, but the statues on their side of the room were shockingly empty of any possible weapons, which was a grave oversight from whoever had stocked them up. 

Ryou's eyes flittered back to where Jaden was possibly hiding. “A bit faster please?!” This was looking more and more like a triple resurrection with every second. Gozaburo's eyes narrowed in confusion, and his looked around, but luckily there wasn't anything for him to see.

Jaden could hear the sounds of the fight from his hiding spot behind the stone. Yugi's body lay in front of him, and the book, opened with the key he had found in Yugi's pocket, was on his knees. But they seemed to be so far away he couldn't even make out different voices. His whole focus was on the book and the hieroglyphs; even Kuriboh was only curled up silently next to him, as he read out the words carefully. 

_ “Hootash narab oos Veesloo. Ahm kum Ra. Ahm kum Dei.” _

Using the fact that Gozaburo's back was turned to her, Tea charged forward, but in the same second, her target turned around, weapons raised, and she had to dodge, managing to avoid being hit by the barest of breadths.

That fight could go better. Even if they were tackling him three on one, Hirutani fought like a man possessed. Which, admittedly, he had been all of his life, only now even the last pretence of human sanity had been stripped away. He howled, he bit down, he clawed and he fought so well he almost had them on retreat a couple of times. 

Joey just managed to land on his feet after the last hit, twisting around mid-air, and got a few punches in himself, directly on the nose, which left such a satisfying sound. 

Riding straight across the battlefield, Seth caught side of one of the demons raising his double-weapon to cut down Malik from behind. Taking aim, he drew his hand back and threw his sword. It spun in mid-air and cut the creature’s head straight from its shoulder before burying itself in the sand. Without breaking his ride, or slowing down, Seth swooped down to pick it up. Malik shot him a short nod before cutting of the head of the enemy now bothering him.

Maybe it was intentional that this place was filled to the brim with weapons. After all, whomever came here was expecting to fight the Scorpion King, so it was nice that Joey and the others were stumbling over another heap of weapons every time they got closer to the platform’s corners. Somebody had clearly been thoughtful when they built this place. Unfortunately, that meant Hirutani now had a weapon too. A kick from him, using his weapon as a lifting point sent Joey flying backwards, directly into one of the burning basins, and only Atem's shadows catching him kept him from joining the liquid and the flames on the way down the ravine.

The army of the underworld turned to dust around them. Even as he was thrown off his horse dodging one of the weapons and rolling across the sand to his feet, Seth could see it. Left and right his people were cutting them down faster and faster.

_ “Efday Shokran…efday Shokran.” _ It was working; Jaden could feel it. There was a shift in the air, as if it was moving through him, connecting him, the book and Yugi in a steady circle and something just outside his range was moving, warm even against the dryness of the room he cowered in, following his call. 

And then he stumbled. Oh no…

“Ryou! Tea! I don't know what this last symbol is!” The last one, of course it had to be that. So much for his ability to read hieroglyphics. And he knew it, he knew that he had seen it before, had seen it multiple times, across so many different texts… But he couldn't focus, couldn't remember what it was, could only see the texts he had read with that hieroglyph in them, burning his mind. So close, he was so close…

Ryou and Tea were currently running and dodging for their lives, doing anything they could to not get hit. Ryou grasped a wooden piece of a statue which must have fallen down before, and Tea defended herself with the only weapon-like thing left in the room, the shaft of an axe…but sadly it was only the shaft. 

She turned her head slightly in Jaden's direction. “What does it look like?”

Jaden looked back to the book and squinted. “It's a bird. A stork!” Imitating the flapping motions of wings with his arm, Jaden scowled. He should know this one, he knew it. Yugi had pointed that out specifically, smiling as he explained its meaning as if he was remembering something…only Jaden needed to remember now!

Ryou froze, a big smile appearing on his face. Stepping forward, twisting his makeshift weapon and moving fast, he actually managed to hurl the axe out of Gozaburo's grip. He hardly noticed when it skittered across the floor. “I know that one! I know that one!” Oh, yes, he did. He still saw that moment in his nightmares, Zorc in his body advancing on Yugi, fighting him, his own hands tightening around Yugi's throat as Yugi struggled to get out a word, one word, which would seal Zorc's end and give Joey control of his mummies. ”Ahme…”

At that moment a hand closed around his own throat, and Gozaburo threw his sword down on him, only for Tea to grasp his arm from behind, struggling to keep it away from Ryou's face. 

“Then what is it?!” Jaden’s voice rang out desperately, and Ryou tried, truly tried, to form the word, but he could barely breathe as it was… Fuck this. He took all the anger he had left—at Zorc, at how he and his friends had been threatened by him, about what he had made him do; about Gozaburo, remembering how it felt to watch Zorc kill, to watch as Gozaburo killed Yugi; everything he had raged and dealt with for the last two years—and threw it into one desperate, mad shove against Gozaburo. Tea just jumped aside at the last moment as Gozaburo staggered, almost flying backwards, and Ryou turned around and screaming the word out arms stretched wide and triumphantly. 

“Ahmenophus!” Choke on that, Zorc.

At that moment Gozaburo was at him again, hands clasping his throat and dragging him down, with Tea sprinting to get to their side.

Jaden nearly hit himself. Of course. “That's it!  _ Efday Shokran Ahmenophus!” _ He had barely spoken, more like screamed out the last word, when the waves of air which had flown through him rippled into existence before him, shimmering like they were made out of gold. A shining mirage in the desert. Jaden watched, wide eyed, as they began to settle over Yugi..

Hirutani's weapon broke in the middle when Joey hit it right, but that only meant that now he had a sharp point in each hand. Even if one hand was skeletal, and thus practically unusable, the madman could still fight. Joey and Tristan were now attacking him left and right, with Atem and his shadows as support and yet Hirutani wasn't showing even the slightest hint of slowing down.

And then that earth-shaking roar rang out again, throwing them all off their feet, and sounding now far, far closer than before.

They were dying. The underworld army was actually dying. Seth wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, but step by step, dead demon by dead demon, and with high losses, his men were driving them back. The demons not yet getting killed and turning to sand were actually turning to run from them.

That was it. Ryou had been thrown to the floor, his ankle bent at a very painful angle, and even as he struggled to stand, Tea had been driven against the base of a statue with a cut straight across her breastbone. She grasped for the cut, relieved to find it shallow. Gozaburo stepped up to her, sword raised to shove it down into her heart. He smiled when his arm came down, and Tea did his best to meet his gaze defiantly, despite the fear making her heart beat so fast it was painful, despite Ryou screaming her name behind Gozaburo… But just before the sword pierced her skin, another hand appeared catching Gozaburo's mid-swing.

Tea's head flew around, and her eyes widened, tears threatening to flow again, as Yugi, alive… He was alive, it had worked…

Yugi shot her a quick, reassuring smile before he focused back on Gozaburo, face serious, his arm in a tight grip. “Why don't you pick on someone your own size?”

“Yugi!” Tea's relieved call was met with another smile that vanished as fast as it came, as Yugi never took his eyes off Gozaburo. 

“No time. Go, take Ryou and Jaden, and help Joey and the others.” Without looking he gestured behind himself for his friends to leave, putting himself between them and Gozaburo, to shield them. 

“But Yugi…!” Jaden’s indignant scream got caught short as he and Tea helped Ryou to his feet, and Yugi, still not looking away from his enemy, shook his head. 

“No buts, Jaden.”

Jaden still shook his head. “But… But…” 

Tea laid an arm on his shoulder. “Come on, Jaden.” She turned one last look at Yugi. “You'll be all right?” 

And now Yugi truly smiled. “Yes.” For just a second he glanced in their direction. “I'll be just fine.” And with a last nod from Tea they vanished through the nearest door. He still could hear their voices ringing out. 

“We did it! We did it!” Jaden's voice nearly tumbled over itself; it was so full of joy. He had nearly strangled Yugi again when he had woken up, so tightly had he hugged him. Another smile flittered across Yugi's lips at the memory. Ryou's laughter followed, and the last sounds Yugi heard were: “Oh yes, everyone. And now let’s go help the others.”

Yugi took a step closer to Gozaburo, drawing the weapons he had found next behind the stone near Jaden when he woke up. A kopesh sword and an axe. They lay in his hands like old friends; moving them felt like breathing, every step assured and secure like an old familiar dance. He remembered. For the first time in his life he remembered everything. Through the underworld, along the sun’s nightly journey and through the twelve gates, everything had come back, one piece at a time. He remembered Kemet, remembered his student days in the temple in the Delta. Remembered Atem. And he remembered Aknadin. Zorc's first coming into this world, the destruction almost worse, even more deadly than his rise two years ago, for he hadn't needed to waste time hunting for sacrifices for his recreation. He remembered his first journey to the Halls of Osiris, long, long after the others had passed, after…after he had to bury Atem at Hamunaptra. He remembered the Devourer, glancing at him, as the feather was weighed against his heart, the saliva gathering in its mouth, and his own fear, his own sureness that he would fail. He remembered the Field of Reeds. He remembered returning, living again, every day of this life now, his friends, his family. He remembered Heba. He remembered Yugi. And they both were in balance.

Joey's blade clashed against Hirutani's and they were locked again. Pushing against each other the two of them drew closer together, neither being able to move the other even an inch. Just as Joey was sure his strength would finally give out, his muscles already protesting loudly, the clanking of a lock could be heard, and all four of them in the room turned their head as the door directly across from them, locked since they had landed here, slowly swung open.

Joey froze on the spot, eyes wide. The…thing behind the door looked like it came straight out of the kind of nightmare that would put even his own worst ones to shame. Human…hadn’t Yugi said that the Scorpion King had been human? This…this didn't look like a human to him. It had too many legs, which looked way too much like spider legs to start with. The legs slowly spread oud, two gigantic pinchers unfolding in front of the creature’s body, and with a series of clicks, each one sending another chill down Joey's spine, the being in the shadows at the top of the door slowly climbed down. Definitely not human. Or…not completely.

Joey jumped backwards and to the right where Tristan Atem joined him. Hirutani leapt to they left. They all raised their weapons, or in Atem's case his hands, and Joey could see his own hands grasping the weapon shaking. This…oh fucking hell, Yugi had mentioned that the Scorpion King had made a pact with…something in the desert, and if that was the result… Joey really doubted it had been worth it.

The being that once had been the Scorpion King walked...crawled into the light. His upper body and his head were still human, and once upon a time he must have been impressive, with a hard, sharply cut face framed by long black hair. But a web of dark scars—similar to the one left by third degree burns, only in an unnatural black and grey, and covered with the beginnings of an insects shell, like islands rising above the scars here and there—covered the entire left side of his muscular body, and turned, when it reached his arms, into a pair of gigantic scorpion pincers, which didn't look so much like growing out of them, but more like they were fused onto his human arms.

Two more pinchers grew out of his sides where the human body fused into a scorpion body, with eight spider legs clicking on the floor every time he moved. Joey got a very good luck at the scorpion tail with the gigantic stinger rising over its back. The pinchers snapped left and right, and right out of his upper body, a pair of mandibles was growing, dripping with either be poison or saliva, and Joey honestly didn't know which was worse. 

They all withdrew slowly as the Scorpion King approached, sniffing and growling at them like an animal, and when he gained at them, there was nothing human left in his face or his eyes. That was not a smile, not an expression of joy. That was an animal baring its teeth to attack.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

The Scorpion King walked closer and closer, its pinchers snapping left and right. Joey stumbled backwards again, almost directly into Tristan and Atem. “What the hell…” He could barely breathe, and neither of his friends answered him. That…that was the thing they had to kill to save the world?

The Scorpion King looked from left to right, clearly trying to decide with whom to side with when Hirutani's laughter filled the air. “Oh, that's going to be brilliant!” Both Joey and the Scorpion King looked over to him at the same time, and Joey watched with horror, as Hirutani, still wearing a mad smile on his lips, bowed. “My king.” He gestured towards Joey, Tristan and Atem, and fuck it, even across the room Joey could see the pure thrill in his smile, the dark satisfaction in his eyes. “Those over there have been sent to kill you.” It probably helped that he had his weapon lowered, while Joey and Tristan still had theirs raised.

The Scorpion King flew around, growling at them, and underneath his massive form, Joey caught Hirutani grinning at him. Bastard clearly hoped for a nice show. And he probably didn't even care that he would be next, not if he could see them die first. Or maybe he still hoped for his chance to kill the Scorpion King afterwards… Ah, who the hell knew if Hirutani even had clear motives at this point. Yeah, fuck that, even Joey had no idea how they would survive that beast. But he wouldn't go down without a fight, and by the looks of his friends, nor would they. 

Tristan's hands tightened around his axe, and he shot them a tight grin. “Just like the old times at Hamunaptra, isn't it guys?” 

Atem turned his head slightly towards him. “You and I remember Hamunaptra very differently.” 

And with that Joey laughed. “True, you definitely were worse than this guy. This is going to be a walk in the park compared to that.” The look on Atem's face almost made Joey's nearing death look brighter. At least it let him face it with a grin.

The flames pulsed in their bowls around them, and with that as his sign the Scorpion King charged.

His pinchers flew forward, and without Atem's shadows covering them and throwing them off, either Joey or Tristan would have been caught within seconds. Fuck, for its size that thing was fast! A bowl toppled over and the Scorpion King continued on through the flames. Tristan had to dive for cover, blocking one pincher while he rolled. Joey got stuck with the short end of the stick, trapped beneath the king and the stone wall of the cave, while Atem had to dive and block with his shadows because the stingers were now targeting him specifically.

The king cleaved out gigantic pieces of the wall behind Joey while lunging for him, with Joey barely avoiding both his pincers and the gigantic stone blocks raining down on him. Hirutani was still standing where he had been before, cradling his skeletal hand in his other, and watching the scene in front of him with a smile. Oh yes, that had been worth it.

Yugi and Gozaburo faced each other, slowly and carefully walking in a circle, never letting the other out of their eyes. Yugi smiled almost serenely, his bearings completely relaxed, his weapons resting easily in his hands. Gozaburo was more weary, his position a bit more ragged, and his weapons already lined up for attack. But he had always been mistrustful, only keeping to his own counsel. That was so familiar that it actually put Yugi even more at ease.

He knew this dance, knew all the steps, and while he had never won against Aknadin before, this time it would be different.

His enemy stopped. “Heba.” 

Yugi twirled the axe and sword in his hands. “Aknadin.” 

A smile spread over Aknadin's lips.  _ “Good.” _ With that said in Late Egyptian, he charged. Yugi countered. Their weapons met with a spark and a clang. They were moving almost as one, each attack and defence following automatically, enemies who knew their patterns inside out, who had danced this dance so many times before they didn't even have to think about it. 

They clashed and drove each other across the room, around and around, flying at each other with millenniums worth of mutual mistrust and dislike, followed by anger and a deeply, personal hate. This time it was not a ceremonial fight: the high priest of the Pharaoh’s council, long lived, battle tried; Horus against Seth's's High Priest in his god’s place, young, and way too gifted for his own good; a fight which had always been a little bit too serious for a mere re-enactment of a myth. This was personal, a battle for the history books in the making, finally to be settled.

They were equally matched, their weapons clashing, axe against axe, sword against sword, locking them in place, till Aknading drove Yugi back against the wall and his hands backwards to pin him into place. 

For a second they were just looking at each other, slightly out of breath. Aknadin tilted his head with a slight condescending smile. “You remember the old ways.” He was still speaking their ancient language, and like they both had for their whole encounter, and Yugi held his gaze for a second longer before he rammed his head straight into Aknadin's, knocking him nearly off his feet and backwards. As Aknadin looked up at him, shock in his eyes, Yugi dove at him again, giving him no break. 

_ “That's a little something new.” _ This time he was speaking Arabic.

Because that was the difference between them. In the end it had always come down to that. Aknadin was locked into the past. He stewed in anger over the loss off what he deemed as his, refused to let old wounds go, enough that he had nearly destroyed his own land and the world, killed his only remaining family, tried to mind control his own son—all because once, years ago, his twin brother had gotten the throne and not him. Even now, in his new life, he still clung to the past, to what had been then, to Zorc, trying to finish what he had begun.

Even with his memories returned, Yugi still had his life in this time. He added to it, but he didn't replace the memories. He had his friends, his family, his work, so much he still wanted to do, still wanted to see… He was alive now, and while he lived with his new knowledge and his old life, it was a part of him, but not him completely. What pieces he would pick from his old life—if he would pick on some of them at all, and Atem's smiling face shimmered through his mind for a second then, prompting another smile—would be his choice, and he would face them on the terms of this new life, to see what could grow from them now. He was actually curious about that. 

And so he could attack Aknadin with a trick he had learned from Joey and Tristan, something Aknadin, locked in their old routine, never saw coming. In a way, that made the fact that he, Yugi, had always been Horus almost ironic. Horus was the young god, the new beginning, after the old generation had all gotten tangled up in kin murder and betrayals of their own family, in blood and intrigue. Re-Horakhty, the godly union of Horus and Re was the morning sun, the new dawn. Something Aknadin never couldn't be.

Yugi flew around and rammed his elbow into Aknadin's stomach, and while he keeled over, Yugi raised his arm and slashed at him with the sword. Aknadin stumbled back; a deep cut ran across his cheek, blood already dripping down. He was breathing heavily looking at Yugi like he saw him for the first time in his life, and when Yugi returned his gaze evenly, he was almost sure he could see a hint of fear in it. So he wasn't surprised when Aknadin suddenly turned on his heel and ran down the same corridor, Tea, Ryou and Jaden had left earlier.

They were all fighting on foot now, their horses either dead or fled, and still the underworld’s army continued to drop like flies. It was a hard battle, dearly fought but still, given that this army was supposed to be unbeatable, Seth was almost impressed at how much it went into their favour at the moment. Impressed, and deeply suspicious. He cut off the head of a demon fallen down in the sand before him, then flew around to behead another one who had tried to strike at him from behind, and when that demon turned back to sand, softly falling down before him, he saw that it had been the last.

All around him his people stopped. Joyous shouts broke out, swords were raised in triumph, and across the mass of people Seth saw Malik with a proud, satisfied smirk on his face. 

He couldn't share their joy. It had been too easy. They had lost so much, nearly gotten beaten multiple times and yet…and yet it shouldn't have been that easy. He drew his breath, tired to his very bones; every muscle in his body ached, and even with Horus pressing himself against him through his clothes, trying to offer comfort, he couldn't stop worrying. That… no that wasn't the end.

He threw one last look around, shook his head, and started to run. Behind him, he could hear Malik screaming his name, could hear the confused whispers of his people, could see their worried and nervous glances at his back, the whispered questions if he had actually lost his mind now. After all that stress a little break down wasn't that unlikely after all. He didn't care, didn't even stop to correct them, or glare at the whispers.

He kept running through the army of his tribes like a man possessed, and after a short moment, they turned around and followed him. It made him proud, in the same way that it hurt. They trusted him, as the leader of all tribes, despite his age, so much that they followed him even without explanation, even if they thought him mad, because they were sure he had a reason. He had earned that trust, had worked hard for it, and yet it made him afraid each time he saw it. Because he held their lives in his hands; they were entrusted to him, and now, if what he feared, what he suspected was true, if this wasn't the end…he would be the one who would lead them to their deaths. Not that they could have escaped that fate, not that they would have chosen another. They were Medjay after all, and fighting this fight was their duty. They still were his responsibility.

He continued on, running across the desert, stopping only when he saw the first demons, again in the shape of rotten parodies of Anubis, break over the dunes at the horizon ahead of him. It was as he had feared. They had only defeated the vanguard.

This was a whole sea of demons, an endless black nightmare, stretching farther than his eyes could see; a tide which would wash away everything in its path. This was the true might of the army of the underworld. A whisper broke from his lips “God help us.”

At this point Joey was only running. He had lost sight of Tristan and Atem; the last sight he had of them had been Atem's shadows covering Tristan, so he was fairly sure that they were still all right. Ok, he hoped that they still were all right. He didn't want to think about the alternative.

The tunnel he was running down still continued on when he stopped, out of breath and angry with himself. Fuck that, he had promised himself, he wouldn't run. Time to go back and…die with his friends against a monster that would end the world afterwards. Joy. 

He shook his head, stopping when he caught a glimpse of something on the wall, just out of the corner of his eye. Something glittering. He looked closer at the life-size relief of a man, holding a very familiar sceptre, covered in gold, in his hand and on the other… Joey nearly took a double take when he saw it, but even when he blinked, leaning forward to get a closer look, it didn't disappear or change. The man in the relief wore his tattoo, the Medjay tattoo on his arm, and just like the sceptre it was covered in gold.

Joey lifted his arm, tearing down the band covering the tattoo and placed it beside the picture. Yep, still identical. Well…that was a bit on the nose, even for fate. Ok, good. Good. He took a step back, nearly stumbling over his own feet, and found, next to this relief, a couple more smooth walls with reliefs. This whole corridor he was in was basically nothing more than a natural tunnel, but someone had taken care to completely straighten and smooth the walls to carve these life-size portraits.

On the second relief, the man from the first lifted the sceptre over his head, both it and the tattoo still golden, and on the third one it was lengthened into a… Joey squinted. A spear? That, in the last picture, stuck out from the Scorpion King’s chest. The king himself had his head thrown back as if in pain and Joey nodded automatically. Ok. Ok. That was how to kill the Scorpion King for dummies. Great. Somebody must have known he would come around here, even if he didn't quite know why these pictures actually were in this temple. Did whatever created this place actually want the king to be killed? 

But that didn't matter. He nodded at the pictures. “Ok, now I'm a believer.” He was talking as much to Seth as he was to himself. Because somebody had thought he could wear that tattoo, that he could belong, even if only in the loosest of possible terms, to the Medjay. And now, with him being the only one with this tattoo in this place, he would do his damnedest to be worthy of this trust. 

His hand wandered down to his belt, and he froze. Fuck! The sceptre—the spear was gone.

He looked around frantically, his mind hurrying over itself. Fuck, fuck,  _ fuck. _ Somewhere in the last couple of fights, possible during one of the times he had gotten thrown around, he must have lost it. So it had to be close. It had to be. If it hadn't tumbled down to the cursed souls…

“Joey! Tea's voice, calling out somewhere behind him, jerked him out of his thoughts. He flew around and ran back to the fight, appearing behind the gong. Atem and Tristan were still keeping the Scorpion King busy; and Tea, Jaden and Ryou had just stepped into the room, with Tea and Jaden supporting Ryou between them. 

Joey wet his lips, and screamed. “It's a spear! The golden stick thing…it's a spear!” He was gesturing while he spoke, pantomiming and drawing it out. “Has anybody seen it?!” 

Tea, Jaden and Ryou turned their heads around to look. Jaden was the first to cry out. “I see it!” Nimble as a weasel he slipped out under Ryou's arm and hurried to a point a few steps away from the entrance, where something golden glimmered on the floor. It lay near the place were Joey had nearly fallen down into the cursed souls after his jump before Atem had caught him, and for his taste it was actually way too close, but Jaden rose with a triumphant smile, carrying the spear. “Here it is!” He looked down at it. “It doesn't look like a spear.”

Joey shook his head. “No! That's because it opens up into one!” Ok, he might have sound a little bit hysterical while he screamed that, but after the day he had had, he was pretty sure he had earned that right. 

Jaden slowly nodded. “Ok. And?” 

Joey nearly shook his head. The boy usually wasn't that slow. “Jaden! It! Opens! Up! Into! A! Spear!” Each word was accompanied by a gesture mimicking opening it up, and Joey glared at Jaden across the room, willing him to understand. Come on boy, you got this! 

A roar behind him made him freeze. With a curse on his lips he flew around, just in time to see Tristan lying on the floor still breathing luckily, and Atem rising to his feet a few steps beside him… And the Scorpion King running along the wall behind Joey. Ryou and Jaden started to scream at the same time, while Tea just stared at the king, eyes wide and completely frozen.

The king jumped down, and Joey ran. Behind him he could hear columns shatter and caught the flickering of flames out of the corner of his eyes as the Scorpion King threw down and destroyed everything in his path, his roar sounding angrier and angrier the longer his prey escaped him. Jaden was still screaming, when Tea grabbed him by the arm and did her best to pull both him and Ryou aside.

The army broke over the dunes like the sea, a gigantic swarm, ready to raze down the world. They were breathless, nearly out of strength. Even with his people beside him one thing was clear: they could not survive that. Nothing could survive that. That didn't matter. The only thing still capable of stopping them and saving the world was somebody killing the Scorpion King and wrestling control away from him and…and he didn't know if any of his friends in Ahm Shere were still alive. If Joey was still alive. If any of them still had even the slightest chance of making that possible. It still didn't matter.

He looked back towards the others, drawing into a straight line behind him. He saw faces full of fear, but also determination. They were all here, all still standing, and nobody showed even a hint of running away. From his place in the line, Malik caught his eye and nodded at him. Seth nodded back. They were all looking at him, waiting for his orders, his decision, and he knew exactly what it would be. 

He raised his blade towards the endless rising army in front of him. “Till death!” The cry was echoed over and over again by the voices behind him, each and every one of the warriors joining in, swords raised high, voices sure and unafraid. They were Medjay. The protectors of mankind, the last line of defence between the rest of the world and this army and they would do their duty.

Yugi ran after Aknadin, only to nearly stumble when the old man suddenly stopped. He stopped next to him and they both watched, wide eyed as Joey ran around a column in the room ahead of them, chased by…well, Yugi guessed that this had to be the Scorpion King. He blinked at him, and suddenly it was crystal clear just why his priesthood had been tasked by his god to keep the bracelet that much under lock and key. Nobody ever wanted to face this.

Joey was hit by one of the king’s pinchers and thrown across the room, tumbling over himself in the air. He landed with a loud scream of pain on his back, only a couple of steps away from where Tristan and Atem gathered, running to his side. 

“Joey!” Yugi was already running when he screamed his name. “Tristan! Atem!”

Joey head snapped up, and his breath stopped. That…that couldn't be. “Yugi?” But…a shiver ran down his whole body, and for a moment he couldn't think as he watched his friend weave through the room. That wasn't… Yugi was dead, wasn't he? He had seen him die and yet… A short sideways glance showed him Tristan’s equally shocked face and Atem…Atem was looking at Yugi as if he was a vision, so presumably they both saw what he saw. Yugi, alive, unharmed. Joey wasn't hallucinating, and he wasn't dying.

At that moment the pincher of the Scorpion King crashed down, directly between the three of them and sent them scattering. Joey flew around, dodging the king’s attacks, and grabbed one of the nearby spears. He swirled it around, hoping that it wasn't too obvious that he had no idea what the hell he was supposed to do with this weapon. He had never wielded one before, so maybe it was time to get a bit of practice in before the real deal came.

Yugi was trying to get to the others, to find a halfway safe path across the room, when he caught sight of Tea, Ryou and Jaden, huddling together near him. 

“Twist it! 

“Pull it!” 

“I tried that!” 

“We've got to push it!” They were shoving the sceptre of Osiris between them, clearly trying to get it to open up. And what he also saw was Hirutani, eyes fixed on the weapon in their hands, hurrying towards them, with a look in his eyes that made Yugi's whole body freeze. 

“Guys, hurry!” He started to run again when someone grabbed his arm, and he found himself thrown back against the wall. Aknadin stood before him, eyes burning with hatred as he pressed Yugi down, trying to twist the axe out of his hand.

Ok, Joey's try to wield a spear could have gone better. He was locked in close combat with the king, barely being able to dodge his attacks. His spear twirling was highly ineffective, and Tristan and Atem could barely do more than try to distract the king and do their best to keep Joey at least a bit covered with Atem's shadows. Given the angry grin on the king’s face, he clearly realised how bad it was going for Joey.

The army ran towards them now, the desert sand rising behind them like a storm cloud. Seth and the others lowered their blades, ready to meet them.

They were still handling the sceptre between them, when Tea felt a slight movement under her fingers, something giving in with a click, and suddenly the sceptre sprang open into a spear. 

“Throw it!” Yugi's voice rang out, even while he was busy ringing with Gozaburo. “Kill the Scorpion King!”

Hirutani had almost reached them now, stalking over the battlefield. With flames from the overthrown bowls behind him, and the skeletal hand hanging at his side, he almost looked like a demon straight from hell. For a second, looking at him, Ryou was almost sure he could see a very familiar glint, ancient and full of hate, in his eyes. 

“Send his army back to the underworld!” Yugi was still screaming, and as he shared a short nod with the others, Ryou let go of the spear, leaving it in Tea's hands. She had the best chances among the three of them. 

“Good luck.”

Tea nodded, face tightly drawn, and turned to face the fight. Joey, Tristan and Atem were still playing dodge with the king, and with all of them in constant movement it seemed impossible to find a good moment to hit the king, and way too likely she would accidentally kill one of the others. Well, no time like this time.

She drew her arm back and threw the spear, only for Hirutani to suddenly jump into its way and pluck it straight out of the air. He turned around, twisting it in his hands, and the smile on his face had nothing human left in it anymore.

Joey kicked at one of the only bowls still standing, bringing it down and using the fire to drive back the Scorpion King at least for a few seconds. 

Hirutani looked now truly feral. “The army of the underworld will be mine!” With that he threw the spear.

Yugi's warning cry, still busy with trying to throw of Aknadin, rang out: “Guys!”

The spear flew across the room, threw the flames, heading straight for the Scorpion King’s chest, which was turned perfectly towards it, completely open and undefended. It was already too late, it just made him an even better target and…seconds before the spear hit, tendrils of shadows sprang up, knocking it straight out of the air, and directly into Joey’s hands, who had ran up to catch him. Hirutani's angry scream sounded like nothing like what a normal person’s vocal cords could produce.

The desert trembled under the army’s feet. The army of the underworld ran and ran towards Seth and the others and still there was no end in sight, still more and more appeared behind the horizon. And even if Seth’s breaths quickened, even if his hands tightened around his sword, he and the others held the line, moving not a single inch.

Joey rolled away as he landed, jumping to his feet, the spear clasped tightly in his hands, hardly believing that he had caught him, even with Atem's help. Behind him the king was already rising above him, face nothing more than an angry snarl, pincher arms opened wide, ready to descend upon him, to tear him into pieces. Joey screamed, stumbling back, losing his balance again, and falling back into the cliff behind him, with those damned soul things waiting for him, grasping at him—and he did the only thing he could think of: raise the spear and plunge it straight into the king’s chest.

The king stopped mid-movement, snarling down at the spear now running clearly through his body. Joey clung on. Hirutani's angry screams echoed again somewhere behind him. Joey dangled over the abyss of lost souls, held only in place by exactly that spear and the king it was stuck in. This would end now.

The army had now almost reached them, and Seth brandished his sword. Time to die. And he would drag as many of those demons back to the underworld with him as he could.

“Go to hell.” Joey spoke each word clearly, full of conviction and what still remained of his anger. Each syllable was an order. “And take your friends with you.” He twisted the spear again, and the Scorpion King jerked, screaming, before he exploded into a cloud of black sand.

The army broke against them, and just as Seth’s blade came down to meet his first enemy, they all turned into black sand, leaving a sea of darkness to swath over them. It went everywhere—his eyes, his ears his mouth, for a couple of seconds he couldn't breathe—and then it was over, the sand dissolving into the air, leaving only the clear blue sky and the wide desert before them, with not a single demon in sight.

Seth blinked slowly and lowered his sword, hardly realising what had happened. They had lived. The army had been destroyed at the last possible second… And as his people all around him broke out into a loud cheer, celebrating their victory, that they were still alive against all odds, even with him joining them, his eyes wandered back across the desert, towards Ahm Shere beyond the horizon where someone must have killed the Scorpion King. His eyes tightened, and he turned towards Malik, grasping him by the shoulder and jerking him out of this spontaneous celebration. “I need a horse.”


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Story is obviously based on "The Mummy Returns". Anything that seems familiar, I don´t own. Oh, and I also don´t own Yu-gi-oh! or the characters, of course. A big thanks to lily-liegh for betaing this Story! You are amazing! Any mistakes still remaining are my own fault.

Streams of black sand broke out of the golden pyramid and rose high in the air above it, forming a tornado with the screaming face of the Scorpion King inside. The rest of the sand spread all over the oasis, swallowing it whole. Seth was already halfway back to Ahm Shere when he saw it dissolving into the air, and he urged his horse to go on faster. Seconds later the sand column collapsed, sucked back into the pyramid.

The whole pyramid shook around them. Yugi had finally managed to throw off Aknadin, but now they were both clinging to opposite sides of the door frame, trying to stay upright, even as everything around them broke down. The Scorpion King was taking his whole lair with him.

Stones fell down and columns broke as the ceiling threatened to collapse around them. Tea, Ryou and Jaden pressed themselves against the nearest wall. The dust of the destruction filled their mouths and eyes and made it hard to breathe or even see what was going on. Tristan nearly stumbled into them in his search across them room, having lost sight of the other two when the room had begun to break. Across the room from them, a pair of hands was clinging to the edge of a ravine: one normal, one skeletal and constantly slipping as with the last bit of his strength Hirutani tried to drag himself upwards. Almost directly next to him, two other pairs of hands also grasped the edges. Joey and Atem held on with their last bit of strength. Atem had tried to catch him when the Scorpion King had dissolved, but with the room now breaking both of them had been thrown into the abyss. And those damned undead weren’t helping.

Mummies. Of course they had to be mummies. Now that they were trying to drag him down, clasping his feet and pulling, with something that looked like liquid fire miles and miles beneath them, Joey had gotten really good look and them, and what he had presumed to be red-tinted human shapes were fucking  _ mummies, _ glaring at all of them angrily. Just his fucking luck. He had always known he would be killed by a mummy, and now he finally knew how this would go down. Great, just fucking great.

The ceiling was collapsing faster and faster and the whole room shook. If they wanted to have a chance at getting out of here they would have to leave now. But…

Joey was thrown down, and only Atem's hand shooting out managed to catch him in time. Now they were clinging to each other as much as the edge, trying to keep one another upright and alive. But that wouldn't last for long now. Atem caught Joey's eyes, and shot him a quick smile, which Joey returned. 

“Fuck, those guys can't be worse than Zorc, can they?” 

Atem shook his head. “Definitely not.” 

Across the room Yugi looked up towards the ceiling. It could work, maybe, if he was fast… 

Across the room Joey caught sight of him, and his eyes widened. “Yugi! No! Get out of here!” 

Atem gaze snapped upwards, towards Yugi, and his mouth fell open, even as he shook his head. “That's not going to work. Just get out of here!”

Yugi looked at them both, at Tristan, Tea and the others who were to far away, cut off by falling debris, and watching the whole scene with despair. They would never make it there in time. But he could. Those two could stuff their heroic sacrifice back where the Scorpion King had gone.

Atem, seeing the look on his face, screamed again. “No!” 

Yugi ran.

He tumbled more than ran; the shaking ground made it hard to move. Pieces of debris crashed down front and sideways of him, making him back track and lose seconds he couldn't afford to lose. Behind him he could hear his friends screaming his name, screaming Joey's name, Atem's name. He hardly heard them.

He stopped behind a column for a second to catch his breath, and then continued onwards, jumping left and right to avoid falling debris, somehow still stumbling on. Joey was losing his grip, Atem next to him was already halfway fallen, and both their eyes were fixed on Yugi, making his way towards them. 

“Hang on!” Tristan's voice cut through the ruckus around them, and Joey pulled himself up one more time, dragging Atem upwards with him, so that his friend’s hand was grasping the edge again. Ok. He could do that. Maybe. Oh fuck, they were all mad.

Gozaburo looked up at the collapsing lair, and back towards Yugi, falling down at exactly that moment and hitting the floor hard. Good. They would all die here: his nephew, that damned priest, and all of their new little friends. His plan may have failed, but this was still a happy ending. With a dark smile on his face, he turned around and ran for his life.

Yugi inched forward towards the edge of the ravine, grasping one hand from Joey and one from Atem. He pulled upwards, clinging to their hands for dear life. They were slipping through his fingers. 

Atem looked up, and shook his head. “You can't save us both.” Given the chaos surrounding them, he sounded remarkably calm, and both Yugi and Joey turned their head to look at him, seeing him smile. 

Joey hook his head first. “Oh fuck, no.” 

Atem just smiled on. “Let go. I'm already dead either way.”

Yugi breath caught, and he shook his head, even thought he knew, deep down, that Atem was right. He didn't have the strength to pull them both up. But he also couldn't let either of them die. “No…” His voice trailed off, as he realised that he may not have a choice, and Atem met his eyes, smiling, red eyes shining full of warmth. 

“I told you. It's fine.” 

At that moment another hand descended next to Yugi, grasping Joey and pulling him up. “Cut the drama you two. We have to get out of here.” 

Joey blinked, suddenly finding himself hallway lying on the floor, halfway in Seth's arms as the Medjay leader pulled him out. Seth's lips twitched into something which might on someone else pass for a smile. 

“I told you I would come back.” Joey looked at him for a second, and then smile spread over his face, mirroring the warmth inside him which made his heart flutter. 

“You took your fucking time. Who’s the dramatic one here?” 

Seth's eyes narrowed. “I can push you right back in, if you want to complain about that.”

Yugi laughed as he grasped Atem, their arms closing around each other, kneeling on the floor. For a second he closed his eyes, just breathing this moment in, listening to Atem's heart beating against his own, practically singing that, despite his claims, he was definitely alive. Then his eyes flew open, and he gave Atem a slight shove. 

“Oh!” Atem's eyes flew open, and Yugi glared at him. 

“Never do that again, do you hear me? I've got enough of your stupid sacrifices to last two lifetimes!” 

Atem's laughter vibrated through his chest. “I don't think I can make any promises in that regard, but I'll do my best.” 

Yugi rolled his eyes, even if a fond smile laid over his lips. “You'd better.”

A loud whistle rang through the air, jerking them all out of their talks. Tristan stood in the doorway, hands on his hips, looking at them like they had all lost their minds, with Tea and Jaden again supporting Ryou behind him. “Hey, lovebirds! Get your asses over here, we've got to leave!”

“Yeah, yeah, hold your horses. We're coming!“ Joey climbed to his feet to leave with the others, when laughter behind him made him stop. He turned around, to meet Hirutani's eyes. His former gang leader was still clinging on, if barely, and despite the cackling smile on his face, his eyes were burning holes into him. 

“So you're leaving me hanging again. Such a disloyal dog.” 

Joey felt, rather than he saw, Seth freeze next to him, felt his hand wandering to the sword at his side. Horus hissed angrily through Seth's clothes. Yugi's eyes narrowed in anger, and Atem, his arm still around Yugi's shoulders, drew bit closer to Joey, raising his hand, and narrowing his eyes at Joey in question. 

Across the room he could hear Tristan shouting. “Asshole!” 

Joey just looked at Hirutani.

He had been so afraid for him so long, it was still hard to see him as anything but a nightmare made flesh. And truth be told, Hirutani was still mad enough to actually be born from a nightmare. But now, as Hirutani hung on by a single spider’s thread before him, after Joey had fought him and lived, with his family beside and behind him, he wasn't afraid anymore. 

What had happened, had happened. He had made a lot of mistakes in the past, things he would never forget and always would feel guilty about. But maybe he could live with that. Because this past, despite being a part of him forever, despite his experiences with Hirutani shaping him into who he was today, they were over. He didn't even need his tattoo to remind him of that, as much as he would always appreciate it, and all that it stood for every day. His future lay ahead of him and he would face it with the people at his side. Hirutani didn't matter anymore. 

“I never owed you anything. Least of all much fucking loyalty.” With that he grasped Seth’s hand and turned to leave. The last thing Joey saw of Hirutani was his face, twisted into a mad grimace as he broke down in howling laughter, while his grip finally lessened and he tumbled down into the mummy-filled abyss.

Gozaburo tumbled through the rooms. All around him, the temple collapsed: stones falling down, nearly crushing him; dust filling the air, his clothes his lungs, making it almost impossible to see where he was going, much less to breathe. A corridor he just wanted to enter broke down right before him, and as he stumbled backwards he lost his balance, his gaze clearing just in time to see the basin full of living, angry scorpions right as he fell head first into it. His screams were drowned in the clinking of their shells and the clicking of their pincers as they dragged him under, devouring him bit by bit as fast as Hamunaptra's beetles ever did to their victims. His hand was the last thing reaching out of this sea of bodies, only stopping to reach upwards after a few seconds, before it lifelessly sank back into the hellish basin.

When they finally reached the ground floor of the pyramid and the exit to the jungle again, said jungle was already blocking that exit, being drawn into the pyramid like a green whirpool. They huddled together against a still-stable-looking wall, and Joey was sure he actually saw a few of those cursed undead monkeys thrown around in the tidal wave too. At that moment he almost, but only almost, felt bad for the little monsters. 

Tristan motioned towards a set of stairs situated almost directly next to them. “Let's go up!”

They hurried upwards, and when they reached the outside of the pyramid, at a point almost half its height, the full extension of the destruction around them became clear. The whole jungle was being sucked in, entire trees and boulders as big as small hills were thrown around with the same force as the tiny undead murder monkeys, and the ground beneath the oasis convulsed, as if it was trying to throw it off. The desert right outside the borders of the oasis rose higher and higher, ready to break over it, and burying them together. The only way they had left to go was up, and at best that only would buy them a few more minutes to live. 

They still started to climb. Everybody took turns to help Ryou and Jaden up, and even for the others, it was a slow process. The stones were big enough to reach Joey's hips and so going upwards required quite a climb. He had been tired before, sure he had spend the last of his energy already, but when they finally reached the top, and Joey found another gigantic fucking scorpion figure, even if it was holding up a diamond bigger than a house, he still found the energy to curse. Fucking scorpions. 

They huddled together at the top with no other way to go. Around them the jungle collapsed faster and faster; the edge of the desert now rose high above them, ready to bend in two. 

Yugi looked from one to the other. “We're trapped.” It was such a small statement, almost silent, and yet it was enough to even deflate Joey’s anger.

Nobody said anything after that, they just drew even closer together and hugged each other. Joey even got an arm thrown around Seth, and as he closed his eyes, feeling the heartbeats of his family around him, his last thought was that this was so fucking unfair. They had won, they had saved the world again, and now that fucker of a Scorpion King was having the last laugh. It wasn't fair!

“Hey!” A voice rang out above them, and Tristan’s eyes flew open, jumping back just in time to avoid being hit by a rope thrown down towards them. Looking up, he was sure he was hallucinating for a second, that his near-death was making him see things that weren't there. Because hovering in the air above them was the airship, its balloon visibly repaired, with Duke at the helm, gesturing impatiently towards them. 

“Duke!”

Duke just waved them over as the boat sank down to their level. “Come on, come on, get your asses moving. We haven't gotten all day, and the view is becoming a bit unfriendly!” Tristan laughed as he helped Jaden and Ryou on board, following after them and then dragging up Yugi and Atem, with Joey and Seth climbing in last. 

The ship was already rising when Joey was still clinging on at the side. Once he was halfway on board, Duke grabbed a small lever next to him and pulled. The balloon jerked upwards, with Joey's feet just barely dangling over the last of the green whirlpool, as the jungle closed up over the pyramid beneath them. Accompanied by Duke's laughter, they broke through a rainstorm of sand, pulling free into the blue sky above the desert right as the gigantic sand wall collapsed beneath them and the cursed oasis of Ahm Shere and its Scorpion King were buried forever.

They collapsed against the floor, out of breath. The whole ship’s floor was covered over and over with plant leaves and others remains of the jungle. At least there were no monkeys. Duke rose from beneath the wheel, almost buried in diverse greens, grinning widely and eyes dancing with laughter. “Woohoo! That was amazing!” 

Tristan looked at him, and a smile broke out on his face. “Ok.” So this was how it was going to be. He stood up, and before Duke could even realise what he was doing, he was next to him planting a kiss straight on his lips. Against his lips he could feel Duke smiling. 

“Took you long enough.” 

Tristan drew back a bit, to catch the sparkle in Duke eyes and laughed. “You're an absolute madman, you know that?” 

Duke's grin widened. “And you like it.”

Joey climbed to his feet. He stepped next to Seth, who was leaning against the railing, looking down to the desert below them. “What happened with your people?” Seth's eyes wandered sideways. 

“We won. We lived, most of us anyway. The survivors should now be back on the way to their camps.” He turned his head to look directly at Joey. “Malik is going to meet me in Cairo to return home.” 

Joey nodded, raising his hand to weave his fingers with Seth’s. “I guess I'll have to look towards the desert more often in the future then.” He could feel Seth’s fingers tightening around his, just a bit. 

“You definitely should.”

Leaning back against Atem, Yugi's eyes wandered over the scene in front of him, a relieved and tired smile on his lips. Tea was helping Ryou to sit down, finally checking his foot and sending Jaden, who was talking excitedly, to search for the first aid kit. Tristan and Duke were still at the helm of the ship, and Joey and Seth were lost in their own quiet world.

They had survived. Again. He had hardly believed it at times, and yet here they were alive and whole… Tears gathered in his eyes and warmth filled his chest. His grandfather would love this story. Atem's arms tightened a bit around him, and Yugi looked up to see him smiling. 

“You are lucky to be with your friends.” 

Yugi shook his head at him. “We are lucky.” All of them, every single one of them…he didn't know what he would do without them.

Atem nodded, his eyes wandering off, a faraway look in his eyes. “We still have a lot to talk about.” He sounded so lost, so unsure, so unlike he usually did, that Yugi turned around in his arms to face him directly. 

“We have all the time in the world for that now.” 

They did, and they would need it. Atem would have to face a whole new world, millenniums apart from the one he was used to. It wouldn't be easy, that much Yugi could see. But now, standing here with him, surrounded by his friends and family; seeing the promise of a possible future in Atem's eyes while the ship glided on above the desert, towards a horizon begin tinted with the first shades of orange and soft streams of violet of a beginning sun set; he was sure that it was worth it. That all of what they had faced had been worth this chance at a future.


End file.
